DeMarco Architect

22 Reviews

Architects

19 Hires on Houzz

About Us

6x Best of Houzz winner

Woman owned

Award winning

Renovate or Relocate - Visualize the Possibilities in Orange County

While providing full-service Architectural services, Cheryl DeMarco brings over 25 years of experience to her clients. DeMarco's past projects include custom homes, additions, remodels, multi-family, mixed use, commercial development, tenant improvement, retail, restaurant, and ADA compliance. From contemporary to craftsman style, DeMarco confidently works with engineers, contractors, city officials, and building inspectors. She understands construction methods, building codes, ADA requirements and life safety. She has years of training, the proper licensing, and takes continuing education to stay up on current codes and trends. As a licensed Architect and Real Estate professional, Cheryl DeMarco brings her clients the knowledge, experience and data to help with any type of project. - clients benefit with professional advice and understand the potential of a property before deciding to renovate or relocate. Two Professionals in One - Licensed Architect & Real Estate Professional providing a full range of services to her clients.

Services Provided

3D Rendering, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Architectural Design, Architectural Drawings, Barn Design & Construction, Basement Design, Basement Remodeling, Bathroom Design, Building Design, Custom Home, Deck Design, Drafting, Energy-Efficient Homes, Floor Plans, Garage Design, Green Building, Guesthouse Design & Construction, Handicap-Accessible Design, Historic Building Conservation, Home Additions, Home Extensions, Home Gym Design & Construction, Home Remodeling, Home Restoration, House Plans, Kitchen Design, Kitchen Remodeling, Landscape Plans, Laundry Room Design, Log Home Construction, Mudroom Design, Multigenerational Homes, New Home Construction, Outdoor Kitchen Design, Pool House Design & Construction, Project Management, Rooftop Deck Installation, Space Planning, Staircase Design, Structural Engineering, Sustainable Design, Universal Design, Custom Homes, Architectural planning & design, Real Estate advice, Realtor, Architect - Utah & Calif, Real Estate, Licensed Architect, Global Real Estate Advisor

Areas Served

Park City, Salt Lake City, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, North Tustin, Orange, Rossmoor, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Tustin, Utah, California, Heber, 84098, 84060, snyderville, kamas

Awards

Licensed Architect & Realtor® Licensed Architect in California and Utah Licensed Global Real Estate professional in California and Utah Member of The American Institute of Architects

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24 Projects

Newport Beach, California

Credentials

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Featured Review

David Wright

Relationship

Client

I have worked with Cheryl on multiple projects, both real estate and architectural. Cheryl has a unique ability to incorporate what the client is looking for and pull it all together in the project. I rely on her support and value her opinions Read Full Review

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22 Reviews for DeMarco Architect

Newest first

4.7|22 reviews

Work Quality

5.0

Communication

4.0

Value

5.0

BRIAN

Relationship

Client

Cheryl was a pleasure to work with and helped make our dream home a reality. She helped us maximize our available space and budget while we added 600sqft to our single story home in south Huntington Beach. She also made changes mid project to customize things to our liking. Her background and experience in both the engineering part of architecture as well as interior design/aesthetics bring two major elements of a build together beautifully. Here are some before and after photos:

June 14, 2022

Jennifer Swann

Relationship

Client

We had a great experience working with Cheryl on a total remodel and 1060 sq ft addition to an older home that we bought in summer 2020. We bought the home to design a fully accessible house for our disabled daughter. Cheryl was able to incorporate everything we asked for and knew the code requirements well. Now that we have been living in the home for a few months, we are really appreciating the flow of the design. There isn’t anything I would change.

May 21, 2021

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Thank you for your words and entrusting me with your project! Your project was very important to me as I wanted to create a home that you all could enjoy. Accessiblity design was the priority, but comfort and family living was the goal. All the best to you and your family!

Melanie Chomchavalit

Relationship

Client

It has been a pleasure working with Cheryl. She was very helpful in providing design sense and ideas along with her architectural plans. In addition, she was very aware to the construction codes which made the process a lot easier. With the many design changes along the way, she was always happy and available to assist and make the changes as needed.

January 3, 2020

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

I also enjoyed working with you as you had such a clear vision of what you wanted in your home. Glad to be of service and it is great seeing the completion of this project!

kfalbo

Relationship

Colleague

Cheryl DeMarco was the right choice for my kitchen remodel. She was thorough, efficient, and everything involved was well communicated with no surprises. I was on a time crunch and she managed to get in, get it done and right on schedule. In addition she offered me some great design ideas and advise - - - she knew what she was doing! Cheryl would be the FIRST person I would hire/contact for any future projects as she exceeded my expectations and that seems to be a rarity these days.

December 20, 2019

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Thank you so much! This was a fun project and was done so quickly - it was a great team that you had on the job site too. Even the HOA at the Terraces was easy to work with. Thank you!

Diadem Building & Design

Relationship

Client

Cheryl is an absolute professional and an incredible individual to work with. I had a client with an extremely time-sensitive renovation project that required an architect stamped drawings. Cheryl responded promptly to our pressing situation, delivered exactly what she said she would do. Her professionalism was outstanding and her presence non-pretentious. She is fair, easy to work and communicate with. She will be a definite go-to for future projects.

November 22, 2019

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

This complete kitchen remodel in Newport Beach had a very sensitive time frame. We were able to get plans approved 'over the counter' to get this remodel complete for the homeowner. Fully stamped and approved plans were done in just a few weeks! Thank you for working together on this project.

HU-266114138

Relationship

Client

We enjoyed working with Cheryl. She worked well with us and our contractor. She was prompt in drawing up the plans. We appreciated her ideas and recommendations. She was easy to contact. Our project is ongoing and we still may need some more help from her which I am sure will be appropriate and beneficial to our project.

January 24, 2019

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Thank you Cathy and Bruce! You have been a pleasure to work with too!!

Monica Olson

Relationship

Colleague

I have worked with Cheryl on numerous projects and can't say enough about her skills as an architect. She is very knowledgeable, thorough and timely. I will definitely be using her in the future and highly recommend her services.

January 24, 2019

Kallie Knutsen

Relationship

Client

Cheryl was our architect on our remodel during the summer of 2018. We had a great experience with her and she was very helpful when it came to working with our General Contractor. Very responsive. She was also able to recommend and take care of our structural engineering through a referral. We would definitely recommend her.

October 21, 2018

Dane Brimer

Relationship

Client

Cheryl, was great to work with. In our first meeting she set an expectation on the time it would take for for us to work through and finalize plans and she hit that deadline. Through the process we had many changes and Cheryl was happy to make them and remain at her quoted price. We are very happy with the final plans she has delivered to us.

December 3, 2017Last modified:February 11, 2019

Dale Forbes

Relationship

I have been the structural designer on her projects

Always kept us up to date on what was going on and gave proper information so we could do a great design structurally. Very easy and friendly to work with. It appeared she worked with the owners by keeping design within budget and desires.

November 30, 2017

Leanne Dale

Relationship

Client

Cheryl was invaluable in our search for a home in Southern California. She is very knowledgeable regarding the various locations we were looking and went above and beyond in providing us guidance in buying a house in a very tough market.

November 30, 2017

Kim Nicolas

Relationship

Client

Cheryl has been a pleasure to work with on our whole house remodel. She has been as excited and involved as you would hope your architect would be, sharing our vision for our new home and helping us to achieve it. She was prompt and diligent in putting together our plans and presenting them for city approval. Ongoing she has been always available for any issue that has come up during construction. I would not hesitate to recommend her services.

November 30, 2017

David Wright

Relationship

Client

November 30, 2017

Julie Baker De Marco

Relationship

Client

Cheryl is currently helping me with my kitchen remodel. She has been so helpful already! She gave me ideas that I never even thought of (and I have put a lot of thought into this kitchen!). She is great at taking our preferences into consideration and helping us make them work. What makes her valuable is her knowledge of the real estate market, as well as her design ideas and her knowledge of architecture...as she is actually an architect as well. Hard to find such a combination in a designer. Can't wait to see my final product!

November 29, 2017

Diane Wintjen

Relationship

Client

Cheryl was quick to respond to questions and needs. Helped to make a house a home. Through many obsticiles she managed to keep an upbeat and positive attitude . She Never gave up Hope.

May 5, 2017

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Diane was a pleasure to work with. The existing home needed some work and I was happy to help refer her to some local contractors to help her. Thanks Diane

tramilda

Relationship

Client

Hired Cheryl in January and since paying my deposit I have not seen any kind of drawings. In three months she emailed only twice. She was not answering my calls so I emailed to request she call me back. She sent an emailing asking me to call her at my convenience. I was given a date of when drawings would be emailed and that date has long come and gone. I sent her an email to cancel our contract and request that my deposit be refunded. No response thus far. Her last email was on 3/29.

April 26, 2017

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Since the homeowner wanted to remove bearing walls, I could not proceed without copies of the original approved plans from the city. Due to copywrite laws, I told her that the city required authorization directly from the architect or engineer of record before they could make copies. I spent many hours meeting with this homeowner and with city officials trying to move this project forward. I had no control over obtaining these plans. Normally, architects charge for all actual hours worked but since this was neither of our faults, I decided to refund her full deposit.

This all started in January when I initially met this homeowner at her house to go over her design requests and to let her know what is involved in the city permit process. We talked about the walls she wanted to remove. I told her that the walls were load bearing and explained that those walls were likely shear walls that cannot be cut or eliminated without involving a structural engineer.

I then went to the city to discuss her design request and while I was there, I looked at the original plans, permits and other records of her home. I could see the plan image on their computer screen, which showed that the area she wanted to remodel was load bearing with shear walls as I suspected. In order to remove these walls, we would need copies of the existing plans so that calculations and new structural drawings could be submitted to the city. Before we would be allowed copies, the city needed to get approval from the architect or engineer of record. On March 31st, I went to the city again to check on the status and still could not get copies. It was very frustrating, as the city still could not provide copies of the plans. Not having plans caused me to lose a nice project, plus it cost the homeowner time and was frustrating for her too.

To all homeowners, even if you are not remodeling, it is a good idea to get copies of your original plans from the city or county your property is located in. The plans will show the layout of the walls, framing and other details. This will greatly help plumbers, electricians, HVAC contractors and other trades better service your house and repair your property. If you are planning to remodel, having existing plans will save you money as a design professional will not spend needless time trying to get them for you, plus it will speed up your design process.

Tracy Gohl

Relationship

Client

I worked with Cheryl because my previous contractor had installed a staircase and did not build it to code. So Cheryl came to the rescue! She spent hours and days working on how to devise a proper plan to make the staircase work within the constraints of the space. She is extremely knowledgeable about the city and what they expect and she gave me several different plans from which to choose. The quality of work was outstanding and you can tell that she takes every job, whether it be small or large, and gives it 100%. I was extremely happy with her attitude, her professionalism and her plans that she created. Anytime I have a need for an architect, I will call her and I would certainly recommend her to anyone I know who has architectural needs.

January 11, 2017

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Thank you for your kind words and confidence in my abilities! I look forward to working with you on other projects.

Janet Sicking

Relationship

Client

Cheryl was able to transform our ideas into reality. She is detailed oriented, flexible and was willing to modify our plans as our ideas changed. Her work was timely and readily accepted by the city inspectors.

December 13, 2016

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Thank you Jan for the thoughtful words. I enjoyed working with you and your contractor. This project went smoothly because of everyone's attention to details.

tamelotte

Relationship

Client

DeMarco was a terrific asset for us in our home remodel. Cheryl converted our 1960’s single story house to a beautiful 2 story craftsman style home and had great ideas and insight that have helped us to continue to enjoy our home long after the remodel was completed. Our favorite feature is the dormer in the loft where the ceiling rises 20 feet above the floor with clerestory windows. She listened to our ideas and built them into better ones. Cheryl takes great pride in her work and service to her clients.

September 28, 2015

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

Thank you so much for taking the time to review me. I am so glad that I was able to create a home for your entire family to enjoy.

Resort Living Interiors A.S.I.D.

Relationship

Colleague

Cheryl is all-inclusive in her analogy of design needs in a structure. She listens to her clients, is creative with problem solving and a joy to work with. Cheryl can meet your needs big and small. Her combination of real estate and architecture gives you the added perspective on every project.

July 21, 2015

otterbefun

Relationship

Client

Bought a just built home in 2003 and the exterior was complete except for a covered patio in the back of the house. I hired Cheryl DeMarco to design the covered patio. The HOA Board required a fully detailed, accurate drawing and also should include the landscape design, showing the plants that would be used. The Board required specific plants that would blend with the community. Ms. DeMarco designed an overhead patio cover that was designed to be able to view the hills beyond my property. The design of the patio cover and the landscape was so complete that the Board mentioned that they wish all the owners would submit a plan that way. It was approved as it was submitted, without any corrections. It turned out just beautiful and I am very pleased with my back yard.

July 5, 2015

Comment from DeMarco Architect:

It was a pleasure to help you with this small project

Pace Cabinetry

Relationship

Colleague

Cheryl is a constant in her field! Her level of creativity, her attention to detail and her listening skills lends to her understanding of your vision to bring together a pleasing design in the end. Cheryl offers her clients good advice and is on top of every detail to make sure that the project runs smoothly and in a timely manner.

January 24, 2015

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15 Ideabooks

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15 Comments

Commented: Exterior colorsVanessa, This is a very popular color combination. I would suggest getting a sample, paint a small area, prior to final painting. Good luck!! Sherwin Williams Black - SW6258 White - SW7006

March 25, 2022

Commented: what is the color used on the exterior walls of the house please?Sherwin William SW9510 - Peace of Mind is the siding color

August 20, 2021

Commented: Looking for a Fixer-Upper to Remodel! Where do I start?The "Home Style" Renovation loan thru Fannie Mae will enable a qualified buyer the ability to purchase a home that needs repairs. It can also be used on your existing home to make renovatio...

February 22, 2018 in Building a Home

Commented: exterior color and trim color please/Colors are from Dunn Edwards Birchwood DEC752 Whisper DEC340

July 8, 2016

Commented: Bathroom remodel disasterSo many great questions and design options....what city are you in?

March 16, 2016 in Design Dilemma

Commented: Who do you call???To best understand an issue in your home, you can call a home inspector. A good contractor or general handyman could help you understand your problem. The bubbling in the wall sounds like a water le...

March 10, 2016 in Buying and Selling Homes

DeMarco Architect