THE
WHISPERER’S
CABINS

The Cabins

Before The Guest Whisperer became a consultancy, it was a way of living - shaped and tested through two small riverside spaces that quietly redefined what hosting could feel like.

The Source Code

The cabins are the source code.
They were shaped slowly, in two very real places — with real guests, real weather, and real learning.

Bowcombe Boathouse and The Batman’s Summerhouse are waterside cabins in Devon, each with its own rhythm, imperfections, and heartbeat. They’ve welcomed thousands of guests, each bringing their own story. Over time, they have become living case studies in what it means to host with presence, with detail, with soul.

Every element of the TGW philosophy was field-tested here — not in theory, but in practice. Each cabin expresses that philosophy in its own distinct way.

BOWCOMBE
BOATHOUSE

“It’s not styled to impress but to soothe - a room that feels like an exhale.”

Charlotte Coalville, Living in Country Style

Bowcombe Boathouse

Shelter by the Water

Rooted in Place

Once a weathered Salcombe yawl shed, now clad in local larch and antique slate reclaimed from a 150-year-old longhouse. A Juliet balcony opens onto Bowcombe Creek; two guest kayaks rest by the slipway. Just inside the door: an honesty gin bar that says you’ve arrived.

Shaped by Story

Inspired by Miranda’s memories of Waiheke Island and her Finnish relatives’ summerhouses. The kitchen island began life as a Victorian mahogany dresser; the handrail came from a retired boat. Her paintings hang on the walls — quiet responses to the shifting estuary light.

A Quiet Connection

This place slows you down — a book in the window seat, salt on the skin after a swim, kindling already laid in the firepit. It invites something unspoken. Guests often say, “I didn’t realise how much I needed this.”

“I can’t help this urge to surprise,” Miranda says. And you feel it — in the shutter turned sideways, the old seed chest turned cupboard, the welcome gin glowing under soft light.

BATMAN’S
SUMMERHOUSE

“What Miranda has created is less about luxury, more about deep comfort.”

Ali Heath, author of Curate, Coccon and Create

How History Holds Us

Formed by History

Built in the 1930s for a servant — the “Batman” to an RAF officer — and still holding its original bones. It sits beside the River Avon, wrapped in woodland and birdsong. Inside, solid oak floors, handmade panelling, and a washstand designed by Diggory ground the space in craft and care.

Layered with Memory

This is a deeply personal restoration. Many of the materials were reclaimed from Miranda and Diggory’s land — oak felled a decade ago, panels from past kitchens. Family heirlooms, like the twin headboards once used in Auntie Ruth’s B&B, hold stories from past generations. Miranda’s presence lives in the brushstrokes — and in the space she leaves untouched.

Felt Through Connection

The Summerhouse is less a holiday let, more a holding space. A layered, atmospheric retreat where guests tune into rhythm: lighting the stove, watching the river, steeping tea, sketching. It feels like time — and time, held gently, is the most human offering there is.

Together, They Whisper Back

These cabins weren’t designed to impress, but to express — a way of thinking, making, and welcoming that resists the generic. They carry the marks of time and touch — shaped by weather, history, and the human hand.

Nothing is rushed. Every material holds a memory. Every corner was considered not just for how it looks, but for how it makes you feel.

This is space as a kind of care — not perfect, but lived in, layered, and quietly transformative. Built to support the rhythms of real life: morning light, muddy boots, deep sleep, slow meals, good conversation.

For today’s hosts and hotels seeking to reconnect with meaning, these cabins offer more than inspiration — they reveal what happens when hospitality becomes human again.

Both cabins have maintained over 90 percent occupancy continuously for the last 5 years and have been featured in leading design publications worldwide. They prove that emotional intelligence and design depth can coexist beautifully — and profitably.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

“The better machines become at thinking, the more we’ll be defined by what we feel.”

Brian Christian, The Most Human Human

Join the Conversation

Every TGW project begins with a conversation - about what makes a place feel alive.
If you’d like to explore how this philosophy could shape your space, let’s begin.