Michelle DeMarco of Geneva has always loved Christmas – not just the season, but the beauty and art of the decorating.

“I just have loved it since I was a kid,” DeMarco said. “Everyone loves it, but I really loved it. One time at my aunt’s house, we were decorating the tree and I was just mesmerized. I loved the creativity.”

Some 20 years ago, she opened her first temporary Christmas store in Bloomingdale. And then she did a few years of temporary stores in Geneva.

And then her business – DeMarco Designs by Michelle – took off.

“It’s more than just decorating,” DeMarco said. “People hire me for the design and installations. If somebody called me and said, ‘I have everything. Put up my decorations,’ that is not what I do.”

Think big. Think elaborate. Big homes, celebrity homes, businesses. Multiple Christmas trees, staircases, fireplaces, entry ways, windows decked with garland, lights, ornaments and she hand-makes every bow.

Think five yards of satin ribbon pulled into a single, large elaborate bow, the ribbon, like the ornaments, only available from certain vendors.

DeMarco will not discuss what she charges, but it’s clear that her services are for those wiling to spend.

‘Christmas wonderland’

“When I meet up with somebody and see their space and we talk and I get a feel for what taste they have, I create a design for their home,” DeMarco said. “I purchase everything and I come and install it.”

She started out doing residential only, then as her reputation grew, businesses wanted her designs and installations as well.

DeMarco never went to school for design or art. She’s self-taught through her passion for Christmas.

“I probably do 80 homes and businesses every season,” DeMarco said.

She decorates Emir Abinion’s showrooms for Fox Valley Volkswagen in St. Charles and Crystal Lake, and Fox Valley GMC in St Charles, among others.

“For years, we were doing it ourselves, and things get busy and it doesn’t get done,” Abinion said.

DeMarco started out decorating Abinion’s home in St. Charles.

“She did such a great job and it was so easy and we loved her style,” Abinion said. “Why not have it done for our company?”

DeMarco and her team come in after the dealership closes for the day and everyone goes home. They work through the night like Santa’s elves.

“When employees and team members come in the next morning, it looks like Christmas wonderland,” Abinion said. “It puts a smile on your face because of how beautiful it is and it reminds you of what the season is.”

His house and the showrooms are all decorated before Thanksgiving, he said.

“When it’s all said and done, the team comes back and takes everything down,” Abinion said. “It’s all labeled and put away in dozens of bins for each company and our home.”

‘It was amazing’

Kathy Turnell said DeMarco has been decorating her home for over 15 years – first when she lived in Batavia and now that they’ve moved to Campton Hills.

“I tell her the vision I have and she makes my dream come true,” Turnell said. “Her team of people that come, they bring everything up, ... set everything up, get all the lights and trees on timers and decorate them.”

This year, she has five trees; the tallest is 10 feet, the rest are 7 to 9 feet. Three are decorated just with lights, Turnell said.

“She makes beautiful bows and garlands, wreaths,” Turnell said. “Our first Christmas in our new home – she made it feel like home when she was done. It was amazing.”

Another residential customer, local real estate agent Meg Whitted, also of Campton Hills, also relies on DeMarco’s expertise for her holiday decorating.

“She understood something that is timeless,” Whitted said. “There’s a place for all kinds of Christmas decorations and quality – fun, cute stuff my kids made. I went to Target and got all the little tchotchkes. At some point, I moved into a property that needed more than that. And I wasn’t capable to do something like that.”

She added: “Michelle is the Nieman Marcus of Christmas decorating. If you have the budget, and can afford her, she brings you an inventory of Christmas items that are timeless that you can use year after year.”

Whitted said people walk into her holiday-decorated home “and not even say a word – they just gasp. I hear that, ‘Oh my god.’ It feels like a beautiful Christmas. It does not look like Christmas threw up in my house.”

Busy season

DeMarco is just about done.

She starts organizing in mid-August with consultations, followed by design work and ordering. By mid-October, she’s working 10-12 hours a day, every day, right up to Christmas.

“Literally, this time of year, I don’t even have any friends,” DeMarco said. “I don’t even talk to anybody.”

She’s grateful that it’s seasonal work.

“These hours and this type of chaos is not sustainable all year,” DeMarco said. “I would need five or six of me to do that.”