HomeExchange Collection Member Portrait Magazine - English

E M B E R P O R T R A I T M A G A Z I N

Leveque Family Mercer Island, Washington, USA

M E M B E R P O R T R A I T M A G A Z I N E

HomeExchange Collection is excited to introduce our first Member Portrait Magazine. Highlighting members of the HomeExchange Collection community, the Member Portrait Magazine spotlights our members, their homes, and the unique experiences that they have enjoyed while exchanging their homes.

Created for like minded travelers to meet, share and exchange their luxury homes, HomeExchange Collection is designed to give members the opportunity to feel at home anywhere in the world With inherent trust in one another as part of the community, conscientious homeowners are dedicated to sharing their homes and destinations, providing tailored, individual recommendations for a more authentic vacation experience

The HomeExchange Collection membership is as varied as the homes, with notable sustainable and ecological fashion designers, international consultants, interior designers, scientists, architects, artists, and engineers all among the community. Hospitality, generosity and trust are essential values that link the members of HomeExchange Collection together and allow everyone to travel with peace of mind.

HomeExchange Collection is more than just a platform, it's a community As part of the membership, members are given access to the exclusive HomeExchange Collection Facebook Group. There, members can connect, discuss upcoming exchanges and share local travel recommendations

Our members are what make the HomeExchange Collection community so unique, which is why we ’ re excited to share their stories and experiences with you.

Charles-Edouard Girard and Emmanuel Arnaud President and CEO of HomeExchange

HomeExchange Collection / Member Portrait

The Grail Family - Paris, France

Laetitia, an entrepreneur, and her husband, Jean Sébastien, a consultant, are both from Lyon, France They met there, lived in London for a while, and then settled in Paris Together they have three children; Max Emmanuel, the eldest who is currently in ECG preparatory classes and who does a lot of climbing, Lazare their second who is in MPSI preparatory classes and who loves sailing and finally Victoire who is 14 years old, and is in the third year of secondary school and who loves to read.

Laetitia & Jean Sébastien

Exchanger since March 2009

Why HomeExchange Collection?

Our very first home exchange was in Normandy at Lion sur mer. From there, we visited Marseille, Venice, London, Cape Cod, New York, Venice again Ilhabela in Brazil with friends, and Siena in Italy, Dinan in Brittany, Altea in Spain, Orlando in the US, Koh Samui in Thailand, Bonnieux in France, Poros in Greece, Ixtapa in Mexico, Martinique, Marseille again, the Pyrenees in France, the list goes on and on! And we always go for reciprocal exchanges, not necessarily simultaneous, but because people like us often have second homes, it's easy to exchange

What I really like about exchanging is meeting people. We've kept a lot of friends through it There are even people that we have seen again and that we have visited up to four times This summer, Max Emmanuel may go to Orlando for three weeks to visit the people with whom we had a first exchange in 2013. We saw them again when we went to Los Angeles for an exchange and we regularly talk through email. I find it really nice to be able to keep this kind of relationship

So, to answer the original question, why HomeExchange Collection? Because we love to travel And then because when the kids are little, it's so much nicer than a hotel

I remember once in New York, the kids were still very young, and there was a slide in our exchange apartment, as well as all of the toys of the two boys of the other family; our boys were delighted! We were with Jean Sebastien's parents, his brother and my sister in law. Our host shared the name of a babysitter they use regularly, so we were able to go out in New York

When the children were younger, going to a hotel and often in separate rooms, frankly, was not very practical

Exchanging going to people's homes keeping contacts friends in addition to the practical

Grail

What inspired the design of your space?

That's a good question because I don't think I was inspired by anyone or anything. In fact it's a mix of " easy " contemporary decoration, like our two chandeliers or the Cassina desk, as well as items that I found at the flea market in Vanves or at vintage stores in Paris

We also love art. We have paintings, a lot of ancient statues of primitive art, pieces brought back from our travels, and we even have a drawing by our son Lazare which was featured by the Louvre Museum

We're lucky to have an apartment that even without decoration is already beautiful: there are extraordinary period moldings on the ceiling and around the mirrors, a fireplace in each room, herringbone parquet, stained glass windows everywhere, it's the perfect playground I like to contrast this typical Haussmanian style with a lot of contemporary art

HomeExchange Collection / Member Portrait

The Leveque Family - Mercer Island, Washington

JC Leveque, along with his wife and two children, have been home exchanging since 2017. When traveling, the family enjoys any opportunity to get active and move around; exploring towns, scuba diving, riding ATVs, hiking glaciers, you name it They prefer these types of experiences over exploring museums or historic sites.

Home exchanging has brought them a cool sense of exploration. Through the platform, the family has taken many trips that they wouldn't have thought about without the initiation of other members

JC Leveque

Bedrooms:

Exchanger since April 2014

The Leveque family loves the spontaneity of home exchanging. Many of their exchanges have been spontaneously initiated by another exchanger, which has resulted in the family taking many trips that they wouldn't have considered in other circumstances

Using HomeExchange Collection, the Leveque family has enjoyed a trip to Iceland, as well as more local trips to Seattle and Florida, sometimes even exchanging their vehicles and pets in the process

One of their most notable trips was one to Scotland with eight adults, which would have been very challenging without HomeExchange. During their stay, they enjoyed a comfortable and cozy home right outside of Glasgow, which turned out to be the perfect place for a relaxing getaway

The fact that each home is a real, lived in space, really adds to the experience. For them, having access to daily supplies and essentials is so important It also brings them a sense of cool exploration, being able to see how other people decorate their homes

What do you enjoy most about home exchanging?

Leveque Family Mercer Island, Washington, USA

HomeExchange Collection / Member Portrait

The Miglino Family - Westlake Village, California

Software CEO Chris Miglino first began home exchanging two years ago, when his family wanted to start traveling and he stumbled upon the service online. The family of six had previously stayed in hotels and via home rental services but realized it just didn’t fit their travel style.

Since joining HomeExchange Collection, Chris and his family have traveled around the world, staying in cities like Dubai, San Francisco, Tahoe and Cabo San Lucas.

Christopher Miglino

Exchanger since August 2020

We started home exchanging around two years ago. We have four kids so every time we would travel and stay a hotel, we ended up having to get three rooms. After looking into other options, we found out about HomeExchange and ever since we ' ve joined we ' ve gone to amazing places It's the kind of thing where you really just explore all of these places in the world you otherwise wouldn't have seen if you were staying in a hotel.

We've gone to Dubai, went skiing three times in Big Sky, Tahoe and Colorado. We've stayed in San Francisco We always get to stay in some interesting places and people are always very respectful of our home, as we are of theirs

We also love becoming friends with the people that we trade houses with. The last trip we took, it was our second time to the place down in Cabo and we ' re now friends with those people My wife is always chatting with people around the world and keeping in touch with them through HomeExchange.

HomeExchange is so easy to do and it's fun when you start connecting with people. When you find someone that matches well and that works with us, it's exciting. It's a fun feeling.

What do you enjoy most about home exchanging?

What is the inspiration for your home and home decor?

The inspiration for our home is family and kids We try to make it as fun as possible for the kids so that it's a place that they want to bring their friends We have a really big backyard, the pool and lots of devices for the kids to play with. It's all about having a family home.

HomeExchange Collection / Member Portrait

The Everingham Family - Merritt Island, Florida

Kristi Sanders and her five daughters, ranging in age from 10 19, live in Merritt Island, Florida Managing a large global team during her work hours, Kristi has always had her eye on global travel. Because travel had already brought so much joy to her life, she knew it was something that she wanted to do with her kids HomeExchange Collection has made traveling as a family easier, which has allowed them to do it more often

Kristi Everingham Exchanger since May 2017

We’ve been home exchanging for around 5 years. I have five girls ages 10 19 and as our family grew, we started to realize that we couldn't stay in hotels anymore, we ’ re just too big of a family We loved the idea of having more space and had a really close friend who has been using HomeExchange for years, so we decided to give it a try We've loved it and have used it ever since.

With a large family like mine, HomeExchange Collection allows us to do so much more than we would be able to do without it.

We started out with a small getaway, staying at a lake a short drive away and we had a great time We continued to expand from there We then did 2 weeks in Europe and did home exchanges the whole time We were in Paris, Norway and South of France and we had great spots all along the way. Some of the stays were secured using Guest Points and the other was with a family that had stayed in our home a few years back so it was great to reconnect with them

How has your experience with HomeExchange Collection been?

Everingham Family Merritt Island Florida, USA

What inspired the design of your space?

I really want my home to feel like a home and not a museum It's a very relaxed beach house vibe. Really comfy couches, lots of rugs and throw pillows and blankets. Lots of places to sit together with friends, whether it's on the back porch, side, porch, front porch, or floating in the pool Our home is meant to gather and have people in it

Membership Benefits

Access to our carefully curated selection of outstanding properties all over the world along with the flexibility to exchange with homes within our standard HomeExchange platform

Unlimited exchanges for one year subscription

Invitation to HomeExchange Collection Facebook private group to meet and share with other members

Dedicated membership support available to cater to your needs

Exclusive insider recommendations on top destinations

100% flexible cancellation and accommodation guaranteed in case of non compliance

Protection in the event of property damage up to $2,000,000 USD

+2,500 GuestPoints for new members upon joining

Membership fees

$1000

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we guarantee a second year free of charge if you're unable to utilize our service in the first year. Terms and conditions apply.

Valerie's

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Arto & Krista's Home Finland