WHEN JIM McNeish decided to buy a former hotel at Morenish near Killin, it was with a very particular vision in mind: to "bring the human back into the workplace".

Since 2005, House of Cantle (an old Scots word that means to revive the spirits') has been home and workplace to the psychologist and leadership consultant who has nurtured the development of businesses across the world. He works independently with clients that include executives from multinationals such as BP and Lloyds as well as niche firms.

"Organisations are living systems, not machines," he says. "It's about bringing what's human back into the workplace. I'd visited this area regularly and a friend persuaded me to look at the house, then a hotel, and I fell in love with the views."

The building's gently undulating sprawl presides over Loch Tay and, shrouded in mist or glimmering in sunlight, it's a dramatic spot.

Built in 1750 as a shooting lodge, the house was used during the Second World War to store archive material for the Queen. Previous owners completed considerable work but the décor wasn't to McNeish's taste.

"I had no interior design experience, but we're all more design-aware these days; I trawled magazines and asked friends for advice," he says.

In just 18 months the extensive property has come a long way and McNeish has favoured natural materials and stimulating colours to complement his working practices. Spaces have been moulded that welcome visitors, aid insightful dialogue and soothe body and soul.

Keen to involve the community (the house is frequently opened for ceilidhs), McNeish valued local tradesmen such as joiner Alan Silverton who contributed ideas and expert craftsmanship for over a year. Architects Mackenzie Strickland Associates (Aberfeldy) dealt with local authority permissions required for a commercial building, and reinterpreted the use of space.

The reception (where scores of Wellington boots await forays into the surrounding landscape) has yet to be overhauled, but elsewhere it's easy to see the fine shape into which McNeish is forming the place.

He's excited about the prospect of work to be undertaken in the breakfast room, where large windows frame panoramic views.

"Next year we'll have floor to ceiling windows in an extended room that sits out another 12 ft closer to the loch," he says.

Elsewhere, McNeish delights in the appropriately named snug', a room he says that "everyone loves". It's a space made for the appreciation of a dram, warmed by an open fire, with comfy leather furniture and a rug. But it's the flickering candles perched against exposed stonework that set the atmosphere.

Future plans include glass doors that will add moonlight to this magical equation, and while this room might have the style of a top-notch hotel, the library, with bookcases and a desk, has a clearer role in the business of the house. Many Cantle coaching sessions are one-to-one and the library is conducive to what McNeish describes as "sometimes painful discussion".

The inspirational view helps these sessions, and the experience will be enhanced further when the window is replaced with French doors that will lead to a balcony along the front of the house. Upstairs, the hall floor is clad in solid oak that contrasts beautifully with bright red walls (to one side of the stair), a colour favoured by McNeish for its uplifting quality.

Each of the 12 bedrooms has been themed and styled individually. "Initially we just got a feel for the rooms," says McNeish, "then made north-facing spaces more opulent with richer colours, and south facing rooms, that receive more sun, lighter and brighter."

The Maine Room is fresh in white and blue, a patchwork quilt, wicker furniture and seaside trinkets evoking a New England mood. Then there's the dramatic Monk's Room, which McNeish cheerfully describes as being like a "cloistered cell" with an incredibly high, beamed ceiling, furniture described as "roughly hewn" and a slate floor tempered by under floor heating.

The Disraeli room, on the north side, has a Victorian theme and is decorated in luscious reds. The already popular Edmund room is a wintry Narnia-inspired space with exposed beams, a fake fur bedspread, a street lamp - and of course a great wardrobe. The toffee-toned McCowan has an antique wooden bed and an amazing view.

Every bedroom also has a different en suite, with textured wall tiles, timber counters and a variety of contemporary basins, so visitors can wind down in comfort.

McNeish is particularly pleased with the office at the lower ground level, which is perfect for "bouncing ideas around", with that lochside panorama before it. He genuinely values the natural magnificence on his doorstep, and by endowing House of Cantle with such a similarly uplifting spirit, he's allowed a small Scottish company to flourish on an international scale.

www.cantle.net, 01567 829 155