IT’S the house where virtually nothing is in a straight line. But although it may look like something out of “The Hobbit,” for the past 13 years it has been the perfect cozy sanctuary for millionaire Peter Saunders.

    Set against the slate-grey mountains of Snowdonia in North Wales, it’s not surprising that so many people do a double-take when they first see the house near the village of Llanegryn.

    “They usually stand outside looking stunned,” admits Saunders, 64, who had the house built. “Many assume it’s some kind of strange ancient farmhouse, which is a simple mistake to make because it looks so comfortable in its surroundings.”

    Saunders went to enormous trouble to capture this natural look, interviewing six architects before finding the one who impressed him.

    That was Christopher Day, a sculptor with a keen interest in ecology. “I loved his philosophy that a well-designed building should have a sense of soul,” explains Saunders.

    Realizing this vision, though, was no small task, with the property — called Cynefin — taking three years to create. Whereas normal houses are variations on a box shape, this one is all bends and soft corners, with very few right angles.

    Its geometry is very complex: walls melt into the ceilings, skirting boards are often curved, and the roof zigzags into peaks and slopes.

    “The interior owes everything to the carpenter, Dafydd Davies-Hughes,” said Saunders. “He enjoyed the work because it gave him the opportunity to think outside the box. I’d say, “What would you do if you really could?” and he’d come up with answers.”

    Following a hunch and backing his instincts is typical of Saunders, who in business terminology is a “dragon” — someone who buys and improves firms before selling and moving on.

    He set up his first such venture, Halo Foods, a company selling healthy snacks, in the 1970s. Initially with a workforce of just five, he developed it over six years before selling it to Rowntree. Later, when Halo was threatened with closure, he bought it back, then sold out for a second time in 2004, by which time he had 500 people on the payroll.

    He is reluctant to talk about his wealth but it is obviously considerable. A noted philanthropist, he has given more than £400,000 (US$615,960) to local causes in the past ten years.

    Everything about Cynefin’s interior feels bespoke. Open the front door and you find a rounded reception hall, with a superb Welsh ash staircase leading up to a gallery.

    The ground floor is built into the natural terrain, so the living room area is on a split level, with French windows opening on to terraces from which there are gorgeous views.

    There are two bedrooms on the ground floor — one with steps leading to a mezzanine sleeping area above a study, the other more conventional in layout. There are three more bedrooms upstairs.(SD-Agencies)