Want to get away? Well then it may be worth considering making a temporary home in the abodes of like-minded creatives. Behomm is a new platform that arranges for guests to stay in another’s house in exchange for offering up their homes in return. What sets Behomm apart is its clientele; the benefits are offered exclusively to designers and visual artists.

To date, Behomm members represent a wide range of artistic professionals, from architects to art directors, ceramic artists to fashion stylists, in places from Amsterdam to Tokyo, San Francisco to Morocco. Given the love of beauty each participant implements professionally, Behomm is basically a pool of charming and aesthetically idiosyncratic residences.

Behomm location in Bali

Founded by husband-and-wife team Eva Calduch and Agusti Juste, graphic designers based in Barcelona, Behomm has blossomed into a fast-growing community replete with beautiful homes of all shapes and sizes—in cities, beach communities, and countrysides.

“At Behomm we believe home exchange is not just about finding free accommodations around the world,” said Juste. “It’s about sharing and making personal connections—a prime example of the enriching the ‘shared economy’ movement. Through Behomm, we want to change the way our community of designers and visual artists travel, making the world a friendlier place.”

To learn more about the interior designer-friendly initiative, Editor at Large spoke with Calduch about what sparked the start of Behomm, and how designers can get involved.

Behomm location in Switzerland

Where did the idea behind Behomm come from?

We personally needed it. Agust and I are graphic designers and passionate home exchange travellers.

Where did the name come from?

The name wants to remind us to “be at home.” At the beginning we had several name options, so we did a survey among our friends. By far “Behomm” was the most voted.

How do you vet your members?

All our members are visual artists or design professionals. To join, they must be professionals of one of the 100 professions listed on the application, from animators to window-dressers.

Behomm location in Belgium

How many members have listed their homes thus far?

We are more than 1,300 members-strong right now. We launched a year and a half ago.

How can designers get their homes listed? What are the qualifications?

Behomm is an invitation-only community. To access our private area and be able to register with our special free one-year trial, you must be invited either by a friend who already is a Behomm member or by Behomm’s founders. [You can] fill out an application at the Behomm site.

Behomm location in Barcelona

Behomm is a private community where security and aesthetics are critical, so new members must first go through the selection process. The aesthetics criteria is totally subjective. Certainly our taste is not the good-right one at all and we do understand if people do not share it. This selection makes the difference with all our competitors and members appreciate it. Otherwise we would be exactly as the rest of home exchange sites. We discard around 10-20 percent due to the fact that their home is messy, untidy or does not match the Behomm aesthetics criteria.

We firmly believe that aesthetics has nothing to do with luxury—a tiny home can be more beautiful than a castle. In fact, we personally get very happy when a small and beautiful home registers!

Behomm location in Morocco

Are you able to rent nights in these homes? Or is it only for swap?

Behomm is only for swapping, no renting. There is no money transfer between members. You stay for free, I stay for free.

So how do you make money?

Designers and other professionals who meet the criteria can take advantage of the one-year free trial. Then the site will make its revenue on the membership fees (€95 or $113 per year).