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A young family's
Bloomfield Township
kitchen welcomes friends
and family — especially
the littlest ones.

Lynne Konstantin I Design Writer
Brett Mountain I Photographer

T

h r 1.- f I - CI

rained as an architect — and moonlighting as a yoga instructor —
Barbi Stalburg-Bell has a passion for creating beautiful spaces that
are inherently livable, helped along by a knack for bringing her
"well-on-the-inside" yoga-inspired philosophy to every home project she
embraces.
"Whether the home is for a young family, a growing family or a bachelor,
the challenge is in understanding people's lifestyle and really creating a home
that is customized to their needs:' says Stalburg-Bell, architectural designer/
consultant and owner of Barbara S. Bell Design in Bloomfield Hills. "There is
nothing more rewarding than seeing people's lives transformed because their
home is in sync with them:'
To yoga enthusiast Liza Lauter, an 8th-grade English and Spanish teacher
and mom to two young children with her pediatrician husband, Jon,
Stalburg-Bell was the answer.
Working "inside-out:' Stalburg-Bell, with the help of Shane McClure,
a contractor with Rochester Hills' Mac Construction, had the entire 1966
Bloomfield Township colonial gutted to the studs in many areas, bringing the
infrastructure up to date with new drywall and adding recessed fixtures, new
oak flooring and more.
While the family had long-term plans for transforming their traditional
home into a kid-friendly transitional haven with modern and rustic influenc-
es, once the bones were tweaked, their immediate priority was the kitchen.
"We very quickly saw Barbi's commitment to seeing our vision through,
from start to finish:' Lauter says. "But what was really wonderful about work-
ing with her was her ability to very quickly get a sense of our needs and our
style — and present options that made our choices much easier:'
Now, the ideas just pour out: "While we were photographing the kitchen
for this article, Barbi and I started talking about using a barn door between
the kitchen and the library. She shares our excitement, and we love that:' ❑

"We wanted our kitchen

to feel open, bright and

airy," says homeowner Liza

Lauter. "The kitchen is our

gathering place for cooking,

plus projects, friends and

family. We truly live in our

kitchen so it needed to be

functional and welcoming."

Working with Acorn Kitchen

& Bath in Pontiac, Stalburg-

Bell opened up the kitchen

by pushing a tall wall of

appliance and pantry space

10 inches deeper into the

wall. Seamless Super White

Quartzite tops the island and

counters while decorative

beadboard on the island wall

will withstand the wear-and-

tear of small shoes kicking.

The island stools, going

unused at a family member's

home, bring a serendipitously

sculptural softness to the

sleek white backdrop. Lauter

chose to wait on a budget-

pushing backsplash in favor of

installing an apron-front sink.

Gathering Place on page 56

Do you have a home you'd like to share with the community? Contact Lynne Konstantin at lkonstantin@thejewishnews.com .

September 11 • 2014

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