arts & life

at home

h OM e

Bright colors, industrial rustic details — and family at the center of it all —
pack a welcoming punch at the home of a yoga instructor and owner of Jabs Gym.

ABOVE: “I love to cook,” David Tessler says. “We took a lot of time with our kitchen [not shown] and having a pizza oven outside
was a big thing to me. That’s why I own a gym — we work out so we can eat!” A wood-burning oven and firewood storage are
built in to a 13-foot-tall outdoor fireplace. Next to it, a pergola was crafted from repurposed wood acquired from Reclaim Detroit
(RIGHT). “We got to pick out the wood ourselves,” David says. “They showed us where the houses were and what it originally
looked like. It was all going to be thrown away, and Reclaim rescued it and now it’s in our backyard. That’s so cool to me.”

Lynne Konstantin | Arts & Life Editor
Brett Mountain | Photographer

D

avid and Meagan Tessler had very specific ideas
about what they wanted their home to be.
David, a longtime yoga instructor before opening
Jabs Gym in Birmingham and Detroit (see “Flying High Now”
on page 36), wanted a very modern look with a lot of practi-
cality for his growing family. And he knew the perfect designer
to help bring it to life.
David met Barbi Stalburg Bell back when they were both
teaching yoga and had attended several retreats together —
she was even with him when he met his soon-to-be wife. But

Bell had also earned a master’s in architecture and another in
urban planning from U-M before launching BSB Design in
Bloomfield Hills. When the couple bought their first home, in
Farmington Hills, they tapped Bell to renovate and design it.
And knowing they wanted to have children, they called Bell
first when they decided to build a larger home in Birmingham.
“Creating space is always a very personal thing,” Bell says.
“In yoga, you’re always creating space, only it’s internally. In
design, it’s important to find that personal, creative space. It
was a really nice way to work with these clients. [Because of

continued on page 42

July 14 • 2016

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