On this gloomy fall day, the Geiers’
roomy white kitchen is cozy and bright.
Homeowners Peter and Emily brew fresh
coffee and chat comfortably with Dan
Stafford, the Woodworks Design project
manager who practically lived in their
home during the Geiers’ total kitchen
renovation last winter and spring. After
a moment, Dawn Cook, the kitchen’s
designer, enters through the back door
to a chorus of happy greetings.
The Geiers, Woodwork Design, and
Dawn Cook Design managed to pull
off the seemingly impossible: a home
renovation that was at once amicable,
professional, and on schedule. No wonder
everyone is so pleased to be reunited.
Perhaps the spirit of camaraderie is
fed by the kitchen itself. It’s the kind of
place – both before and after renovation
– where people come together.
On the day I visited, I had just
missed the eight teenagers who had
popped over from Shaker High to eat
lunch. This isn’t unusual for the Geiers.
The handsome colonial on Ashford Road
just around the bend from the school
is, with the Geiers’ encouragement, a
magnet for teens. In the spring, 3-on-3
pickup basketball games brought 15 boys
at a time to the house five days a week,
Emily reports with pleasure.
How many kids of their own do they
have? “Two going on 22,” quips project
manager Dan, who clearly enjoyed the
steady stream of adolescents in the
house that didn’t let up even during the
renovation he supervised.
Yes, the Geiers have just two
“official” children, Wilder and Grace, who
are, respectively, a senior and freshman
at the High School. For the school year,
they also have Finnish exchange student
Aksel who is following his older brother
as a long-term guest of the Geiers. In
addition, there are the friends who
seem to be family – the kids who are
so welcome and ever-present that their
snack preferences are permanent fixtures
on the Geier grocery list.
36 WINTER 2018 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
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