Twelve years ago, having lost her job with Lehman Brothers, Elizabeth Doyle decided to leave the then limping world of London finance, and move home to her native Belfast to care for her ailing mother.
While it was illness that drew Doyle home, it's romance that has been at the heart of her life and homestead for these past 12 years. Soon after moving back Doyle bought a striking villa-style house on Broomhill Park on the Malone Road, a head-turner of a building that exudes a romantic elegance befitting the new career Doyle was carving out for herself.
Doyle loved to entertain groups of people in her spacious dining area. The gourmet gatherings sparked the germ of an idea – to bring singles together for dining experiences in various restaurants, where they could meet others in-search-of-love in an environment where the pressure was off and, if romance failed, at the very least all were well fed.
She named her new match-making business The Fine Dining Club. It thrived and expanded to Dublin. A recent decision to move even further afield, with another base just launched in London, has led to Doyle's reluctant decision to part ways with her fairy-tale home.
The 1925-built colonial revival home is certainly different. Featuring in a book on houses of merit in and around the city, and located in an upscale neighbourhood, it’s on the market at £1.295 million (€1.54m), less than it might fetch in an equivalent Dublin location.
“I did consider moving to Dublin to focus on the business there, but it actually makes more sense to move back to London. Dublin is priced out of the market for me. I couldn’t afford to buy what I’d like in the sort of area I’d want to live in. I’m hoping to have enough money from the sale to be able to buy a nice apartment in a good neighbourhood in London.”
The decision is also about downsizing, Doyle says. “I’ve loved having the space. The rooms and the garden are big and that’s been really nice after the earlier years of apartment-living in London. But you realise, as you start to get older, that there’s no point in having all this space, these five big bedrooms, for just me. It would be lovely to see a family with children living here. To fill the place.”
It’s a poignant time for Doyle who is, she says, a romantic at heart. The match-maker, who confesses to having a penchant for the traditional, classical qualities of yesteryear, says she was immediately smitten when she first went to view the house. The love-at-first sight went on to become a labour of love over the dozen years she has lived there.
“In the beginning I had a very clear idea about what I wanted – which was something beautiful and south-facing.” On taking a closer look at the house, she was struck by the appeal of a certain understated presence. It’s an eye-catching and unusual house, but, she says “it doesn’t shout at you from the road. It’s quietly elegant, not flashy.’
Doyle was charmed when she discovered the vertical beams in the attic which were big and solid. What was even more magical to her, though, was when she discovered decorative hand-carvings in the wood.
“I just loved that. These beams were hidden up in the attic where they would never be seen, but they were beautifully carved. Again, that sort of hidden elegance.”
She recalled the story of the master-joiner she had hired to do some repairs. He arrived to the house accompanied by his elderly father who had worked on the house decades before. The three of them moved through the house, with the elderly man pointing out the staircase he had helped to build as a young apprentice, the original doors, fire places, rough plasterwork and other features.
Doyle has enjoyed her 12-year sojourn in a home she has put her stamp on. On the practical front she has had sash windows repaired and restored. She has replaced some fireplaces that had been taken out in the 1950s, added extra bathrooms and a walk-in dressingroom and the moved the kitchen from its original location to what was once the drawingroom.
A lot of effort has gone into the home’s vibrant colour schemes. Being single has its advantages, says Doyle. “I’ve had the freedom not to have to compromise to anyone else’s taste.”
She has also replanted the garden. Bluebells, daffodils and narcissi bring colour, while Doyle has nurtured an increasing interest in roses, which she has been planting over time. “A charming neighbour introduced me to the joy of old roses. I’ve grown to love that old-fashioned, romantic tea-rose smell.”
While Doyle will be sad to leave the home she has loved from the get-go, she is excited at the thoughts of returning to London, hunting for new property and expanding the business that has supported her elegant lifestyle over the past decade. She describes the pleasure she derives, from a business that is about love and the “breaking of bread”.
“Since I started The Fine Dining Club we’ve had lots of couples finding happiness together and beautiful friendships. We’ve had eight weddings and another getting married in March. It’s fun, it’s low-key, it’s free of pressure and a rather sociable way of meeting people. What more could you ask for?”
