Anna meets us at her home, dressed sporty, and immediately earns us with her casual behavior and sweets from the local patisserie. She does not fit into the lady's cliché at the top of the corporate world, and her professional biography is more than impressive. Together with her husband, Richard Clegg, Anna Rizova-Clegg is a leading partner in Wolf Theiss Bulgaria, a law firm with 60 years of experience operating in 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, with teams of over 650 people, about 30 in Bulgaria. "We provide consultancy services to foreign companies that invest in Bulgaria. We are participating in the largest financing, mergers, acquisitions, infrastructure projects, "explains Anna after we have settled comfortably in the white armchairs next to the French windows at her home." We are currently working on four deals. What we see as a trend in Bulgaria as well as across Central and Eastern Europe is that the economy is recovering, there are a lot of investments and deals in different sectors. "Even when talking about business, Anna emits the ease that feels and in her home.
Home at first glance
In the spacious living room there are several corners that at first glance have nothing to do with each other but make the whole space look cozy. "The style is a little eclectic, there is no common sense," says Anna, smiling. I ask her how she and her husband chose this house, and she says: "Ilonka Stoyanova, with whom communication was extremely easy because she immediately understands what you want, showed us very different properties. At one point, he said, "Come and show you a house, I know it's beyond your limits, but let's go." When we got in here, we felt at home, we immediately realized this was our house. We liked it very much, we were captured. We travel a lot and we are busy, most of our lives go out of the house. Returning here is as if we are going on holiday. " I fully understand her - a few minutes are enough to feel the warmth of this home. I am curious whether during the six years in which I live here, Anna and her husband have changed dramatically the interior. They have changed some elements that have completely transformed the look of the house. The white color has replaced the yellow and green. Chrome and mirrors at the bar are replaced by a tree. "Our neighbors are extremely sympathetic people and we often visit ourselves. The very first time they came, they said, "Annie, I do not know what you did, it looks like the same house, and it has nothing to do," laughs Anna.
A short history of things
A blue antique chair of the early twentieth century is a favorite thing for the Clegg family, with which they would never be divorced. "Richard brought this chair from London, but he gave it to me and my daughter," says Anna laughing. A large desk lamp occupies a central place in the living room. "A gift from a very good friend of Richard. It came a Sunday and brought it to us, it was a very kind gesture, "says the hostess. The panther lying over the fireplace is from Paris. "It was in a furniture store. We went in and asked directly about it, and the vendor was startled because nobody was interested in this item so far. "
The formula for cosiness
"With Richard we are absolutely unanimous that cosiness is related to natural materials - wood, stone, wool. The colors in our country are also very close to the natural - brown, gray, beige - warm and calm colors. There are things that can not be touched, to be named, but if people love home and live it, it is cozy, "says Anna. She tells me how, when the three of them, together with her daughter and her husband, love to sit on the floor and talk or watch a movie. When she is alone she prefers the white armchairs to the windows overlooking the forest. "This place is unbelievable because of the light. Winter is wonderful, the snow is on the entire terrace! "
Christmas approaches and asks Anna how they are celebrating in this wonderful house. "For Christmas, we gather together with my parents and my brother, buy a tree with my daughter, decorate it with lights, light the fireplace ... I am very glad that everyone who comes here feels at home."
"Really everyone," I think, while Anna sends us to the entrance of her house, full of warmth and coziness.