TL;DR
Interior designer Tamineh Dhondy says her family started home swapping because their tabby cat, Morris, struggled when left alone. She describes stays in Paris and Suffolk, hosting guests in her renovated Victorian home, and the personal connections that shaped the experience.
Interior designer Tamineh Dhondy says her family began home swapping after their tabby cat, Morris, repeatedly ran away for days after they returned from trips. In an account published by Livingetc, Dhondy describes using the arrangement to have someone stay with Morris while her family travels, and explains how hosting and exchanging homes has become a personal, design-conscious experience for them.
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Dhondy said the family initially relied on a neighbor to feed Morris when they went away. After he twice disappeared for several days following their return, they concluded that he did not cope well with being alone. They spent about a year arranging for friends and relatives to stay, but said the system became difficult because many of those people lived in London and did not need accommodation near the family’s home. Dhondy then considered home swapping as a way to arrange company for Morris and earn travel nights.
She said her family uses Kindred, a home-swapping platform whose credit arrangement appealed to her: according to Dhondy, a night hosted earns one night to use elsewhere. She also cited the quality of listed homes, concierge support and the ability to note that prospective guests should be comfortable around cats. The account describes her experience and reasons for choosing the service; it does not independently assess the platform or compare it with other accommodation options.
The family’s first stay through the service was a weekend in a Paris apartment. Dhondy said the hosts shared local recommendations, including an Italian restaurant, and that the neighborhood was one her family might not otherwise have selected. They have also hosted guests while away on trips that were already booked. Before a couple with a baby arrived, Dhondy said they spoke by video and she helped arrange a high chair through neighbors. She described leaving guests a note and a small gift, and said those advance connections made hosting feel less like letting strangers into the house.
A home becomes part of the journey when hosting meets travel
Interior designer Tamineh Dhondy says her family tried home swapping so Morris, their tabby cat, would have company while they travelled. The experience brought personal connections into both hosting and travel.
Why the family made the change
Morris struggled when left alone, and the family’s informal arrangements with friends and relatives became difficult to sustain.
Morris twice disappeared for several days after the family returned from trips.
Guests stay in the home while the family is away, giving Morris company.
Dhondy says a night hosted earns a night to use elsewhere through Kindred.
The exchange is personal
Her account describes the small acts of communication and care behind particular stays.
Local recommendations
Hosts shared neighborhood tips, including an Italian restaurant.
Planning together
Before guests with a baby arrived, Dhondy spoke with them by video and helped arrange a high chair.
A different visit
A stay let the family experience the area outside their usual summer visits.
A home made for living
Dhondy says the renovation respected the late Victorian house while making it work for family life and entertaining.
- Kitchen inspired by Victorian glasshouses
- Open connection to the garden
- Visible timber and raw plaster
- Guests should feel comfortable around Morris
- Clear communication helps prepare for practical needs
- Personal gestures helped hosting feel less unfamiliar
Hosting Turns Travel Into Exchange
Dhondy’s account shows how a practical household concern can shape the way a family travels: someone stays in the home while they are away, and the family receives nights to use elsewhere. For readers weighing this kind of arrangement, her experience also points to the work behind a successful swap, including communication with guests, planning for children or pets, and preparing a home for people who are not close friends or relatives.
The stories she recounts emphasize that the exchange can involve more than accommodation. Local recommendations from the Paris hosts helped direct the family to a restaurant and an unfamiliar neighborhood, while a stay in Suffolk let them experience the area outside their usual summer visits. Dhondy also describes personal gestures between hosts and guests, from a note and skincare gift left by visitors to her own efforts to source baby equipment. Those details are her account of particular stays, rather than a guarantee of what other swaps will be like.
Her perspective as an interior designer adds another dimension: she says the design of a home and the experience of hosting inform one another. A well-used family space has to meet the needs of the people who live there, while guests must be able to use it comfortably. That makes clear communication about a home’s layout, rules and practical features relevant to both sides of a swap.
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A Victorian Home Designed for Living
Dhondy is a London-based interior designer, stylist and creative director, and the founder of Casina House, a studio focused on interior design and home staging. Livingetc identifies her as having more than 15 years of experience across residential interiors, styling and art direction. In her account, she connects her approach to home swapping with the same attention to how people use a space that guides her professional work.
She said her family’s late Victorian house was in poor condition when they bought it and needed a full renovation. The property sits on a corner plot with a small garden, and the family lived in some of the upper rooms while work continued downstairs. Dhondy said the renovation was designed to respect the building’s period while making the house work as a calm family home that could also accommodate entertaining.
One design reference for the kitchen was Victorian glasshouses. Dhondy said the family opened up the rear of the kitchen, including its roof and doors, to connect it with the garden and create room for plants and indoor-outdoor entertaining. She described retaining rough-sawn timber and raw plaster, saying she values visible materials and signs of craftsmanship. This home is the setting for the family’s hosting experiences; the account does not suggest that a particular design style is required for home swapping.
“It really feels like a community.”
— Tamineh Dhondy, in her account for Livingetc
What the Account Does Not Establish
Dhondy’s article is a first-person account of her family’s experiences, not an independent review of home swapping. It does not provide the dates or number of swaps, the family’s total travel savings, or a comparison of costs with hotels and other rentals. The account also does not detail the platform’s full rules, fees, insurance arrangements, cancellation terms or screening process, so readers should not infer those specifics from her description.
Her account says the family wanted guests who would be comfortable around Morris, but it does not explain how the platform verifies that preference or what arrangements are made if a pet needs care beyond company. It is also not clear whether the family’s current use of the service has changed since the piece was published; the source material provides no publication date.
Planning a Swap Around Pets
Dhondy’s account does not announce a new project or a scheduled next trip. It describes an ongoing approach: the family can host people while away, and use earned nights to travel, with communication about Morris and the home forming part of planning. She said the Suffolk hosts invited her family to contact them through the platform if they wanted to return, but no further booking was reported.
For readers considering a similar arrangement, the details to check would include how nights are earned and redeemed, any charges or eligibility requirements, the platform’s guest and host protections, and how pet care is handled. Those terms can vary by service and are not set out in Dhondy’s account. The family’s experience offers a personal example, but the source does not report broader data on how common home swapping is or whether it reliably reduces travel costs.
Key Questions
Why did Tamineh Dhondy’s family start home swapping?
Dhondy said their tabby cat, Morris, struggled when left alone. After he twice ran away for several days after the family returned from trips, they sought a way to have someone stay at home while they travelled.
What does Dhondy say attracted her to Kindred?
She cited its night-credit system, the homes listed on the platform, concierge support and the ability to specify that guests should be comfortable around cats. These are her stated reasons for choosing it, not an independent assessment.
Where has the family stayed through home swapping?
Dhondy described a weekend in a Paris apartment and a stay in Suffolk outside the summer season. She said the Paris hosts shared local recommendations and the Suffolk trip let her family explore the area at a different time of year.
Does Dhondy’s account provide the full costs or rules of swapping?
No. The account explains the credit system as Dhondy understood it but does not list fees, insurance, cancellation terms, screening procedures or the family’s overall savings. Readers would need to check current platform terms directly.
Source: livingetc.com
