Luxury Outdoor Living with Victor & Macey

Outdoor living is often at its best when very little stands between opening the doors and enjoying the space beyond. No cushions to carry outside, no furniture to rearrange and no worrying about what happens when wet swimsuits, spilt drinks or changing weather become part of the picture. It was precisely this desire for a more effortless way of living outdoors that inspired Victor & Macey’s Luna Collection – a sculptural range of luxury outdoor seating designed to combine exceptional comfort with the durability required for life outside. Crafted from a high-performance composite reinforced with carbon fibre and finished by hand with sophisticated brass or bronze accents, Luna brings the presence and refinement of an indoor statement piece into the outdoor living space, creating a sophisticated approach to luxury outdoor living.

Behind the South African design brand is Danielle Finkelstein, whose background in fashion design and marketing, together with her experiences as a mother and homeowner, has shaped a design philosophy in which beauty, comfort and practicality go hand in hand. In celebration of Women’s Month, SA Décor & Design sat down with Danielle to discover how a frustration at her own holiday home became the starting point for Victor & Macey, the thinking behind the Luna Collection, and why some of the best design ideas begin with solving the challenges of everyday life.

Your outdoor living collection beautifully blurs the lines between indoor comfort and outdoor living. What inspired your vision for creating spaces that encourage people to slow down and truly enjoy life outdoors?

“The inspiration for the Luna Collection came from my own experience. At our holiday home, enjoying the outdoors always seemed to begin with work – unpacking furniture, putting cushions out, worrying about the wind and then packing everything away again.

I wanted outdoor living to feel effortless: to simply open the stacking doors and have a beautiful space waiting for you, with less maintenance and nothing to worry about.

That became the heart of Luna – allowing you to step outside, slow down and simply enjoy the moment. For me, true outdoor luxury is not only about how something looks, but how it makes you feel and the freedom it gives you. And because I have always loved beautiful things, it was equally important that Luna felt luxurious, sophisticated and beautifully considered.”

As a woman in the design industry, how has your personal journey influenced the way you create outdoor collections that are both stylish and practical?

“My background is in fashion design, so I have always had an eye for style, beautiful things and quality. That design foundation has definitely influenced the way I approach Victor & Macey, but being a mother has probably influenced the practicality just as much.

I wanted to create something beautiful and luxurious that you can actually live with. I want my children to be able to jump out of the pool, have their friends over, eat ice cream or spill a little juice without me feeling anxious about the furniture. It should simply wipe clean, and life carries on.

For me, good design should never stop you from enjoying your home. I want to be surrounded by beautiful things, but I also want to relax, spend time with my family and enjoy those everyday moments without constantly worrying about stains or damage. That balance between beauty and effortless living is very much at the heart of how I design.”

Homeowners are placing greater emphasis on wellness, entertaining, and spending quality time at home. How does Luna respond to the way people want to live today?

“For me, wellness at home is really about peace of mind. It is being able to spend time with family and friends without constantly worrying about the furniture, telling the children to be careful or stressing about spills and stains. I wanted Luna to allow people to relax and genuinely enjoy their spaces and the people in them.

At the same time, I did not want practicality to come at the expense of beauty. Luna has been designed to have the presence and sophistication of a high-end statement piece, while still being incredibly easy to live with.

The sculptural form, considered finishes and timeless colour palette allow the collection to feel contemporary today, but still beautiful and relevant for many years to come.”

How do you balance durability with luxury to create furniture that can genuinely be lived in and loved for years?

“For us, durability and comfort had to be considered from the very beginning. We wanted Luna to be inherently comfortable without relying on traditional cushioning, so the shape of the chair was carefully designed around the way people actually sit and relax.

You might start the evening sitting upright, then turn to the side, lean back, put a leg up or settle into a completely different position as the evening goes on. Luna was designed to move with those moments and to be a chair you can truly live in.

The shell is a high-performance composite reinforced with carbon fibre – think luxury yacht – and each chair is meticulously hand-finished by skilled artisans to achieve the level of finish our brand requires. We then introduce real brass or bronze accents, which give the chair an almost jewellery-like quality.

For me, that is where durability and luxury meet: creating something robust enough to be genuinely lived in, but beautifully crafted enough to feel truly special for years to come.”

With Women’s Month celebrating creativity and leadership, what advice would you give women pursuing careers in design, and what comes next for Victor & Macey?

“Although I have a degree in fashion design, my career took me in a completely different direction, and I spent 15 years in the marketing industry. But my passion for design never really left me.

When my husband and I experienced a problem in our own outdoor space, that creative side of me came back to life. What started as something we designed for ourselves grew into Victor & Macey, and the incredible response to the Luna Collection at Decorex Cape Town and Johannesburg has given me the confidence to believe in what we have created.

My advice to other women is to trust your instincts, believe in yourself and do not be afraid to take the risk. Your journey does not have to follow a straight line to lead you back to what you love.

Victor & Macey has become a true passion project for me, and I am incredibly excited about growing the collection and seeing where the brand takes us next.”