Deborah Choi: The art of indoor greenery

Deborah Choi is the founder of Horticure and her mission is to ‘green up’ indoor spaces. She lives with her daughter in Berlin.

‘My journey to Berlin started five years ago. I moved from New York to Zurich for a relationship and had my daughter there. Four years ago, the three of us moved to Berlin. It felt like the right place to raise a child. In Berlin you can make your dreams happen, but also have time to enjoy them. One thing I’d love to show my daughter is that all things are possible – if you work hard and believe in yourself.

As the founder of Horticure, my mission is to ‘green up’ indoor spaces. People bring greenery indoors to improve their mood, their concentration, their air, their well-being. Most of the 70 plants here are from my company.
‘For me, sustainability is buying something of high quality that won’t need to be replaced. ’
Deborah Choi
I have a young child, so home shouldn’t be so fussy – but I also like things that feel natural and have a story. I would describe my space as ‘minimal jungle’, a refuge from the city. Sometimes I think of myself as a recovering workaholic. I used to work 12-hour days, 7 days a week. My daughter changed this for me. I have to shut off, regroup and think about things other than work. I really love to travel, especially now living in Europe. Bringing back the memory of places that I’ve visited is important to me and is reflected in my home. My furniture is a mix of different functions and different aesthetics, like my collection of chairs.
I love the idea of mixing, but always with a sense of cohesion. Typically I try to achieve that through the materials or at least the heights. I love when things are a little bit off, but still come together.

For me, sustainability is buying something of high quality that won’t need to be replaced. This applies to furniture, but also to clothing. I’m not into fast fashion or fast consumption. Sustainability is the idea of continuing and supporting the cycle of craftsmanship.

Coming from design-obsessed New York City, Vitra is one of the big names. An international powerhouse bringing together the best design from across the world in a cohesive way. No matter the geography, there’s always something that marks a Vitra design.’
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