Katie Marks

Katie Marks

Katie Marks is a California-based author who loves finding cool life hacks, sharing them with friends, and diving headlong into craft projects. If there is a garden somewhere, you can probably find her outside playing in it. She also enjoys cooking, reading, and being a full-time nerd. Don’t be fooled by her profile picture: She is a person, not a vegetable, who has written an incredible amount of insightful articles for Networx.com.

Among her written works, Katie has written about Earthships, which are highly sustainable buildings created entirely from recycled and natural materials, typically integrated together in a seamless whole (see her article “Extreme Earthships in Extreme Places” for more details: https://www.networx.com/article/extreme-earthships-in-extreme-places). She has also written about dressing up a home with wainscoting, in which she recommends adventuring into using unusual materials such lincrusta, hemp, sewn paper, fiber, and mosaics, if you are wanting to achieve a more unique look than that of wood paneling.
(https://www.networx.com/article/dress-up-with-wainscoting).

For those wanting recommendations for the best paint colors for the exterior of their home, I’d suggest checking out Katie’s article entitled “Go Bold With Exterior Color” (https://www.networx.com/article/go-bold-with-exterior-color), where she provides images and slideshows of homes that take advantage of the more saturated parts of the color wheel. This article provides exciting ideas for color schemes for those who have too big of a personality to settle for painting the exterior of their home in a dull grey or beige hue.


Katie also gives simple day-to-day tips for activities such as storing food properly (https://www.networx.com/article/store-food-right) and starting gardens (https://www.networx.com/article/gardeners-start-your-seedlings), where you can really see her passion for gardening shine through her writing.

See more of Katie’s articles below for more life hacks, home improvement tips and gardening how-tos!

Photo: Mike Baird/Flickr

Winter Goat Health Tips

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 12, 2013

Earlier this week, we talked about how to keep your chickens safe in the winter, but they're not the only ones who need special attention. If you're keeping goats, they need a little...

Yet another use for planks: bridges! Photo: Andrew Bowden/Flickr

8 Uses for Short Planks

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 12, 2013

I recently replaced the slats in a bedframe, because I needed a different slatting system to support a new mattress. My existing slats, with the exception of one, were in fine shape,...

Pantone's Radiant Orchid

2014 Color of the Year: Radiant Orchid

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 11, 2013

If you're a color nerd, you've been waiting for this moment all year: Pantone's reveal of the 2014 color of the year. The great color gurus have spoken, the news is in, and we're looking...

Photo: Wonderlane/Flickr

A Victorian Home Mystery Solved

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 11, 2013

I encountered a rather delightful article this morning on a common mystery in Victorian homes: what exactly ARE those little rooms at the top of the stairs? They seem too small to be...

Photo: Francois/Flickr

Sustainable Cork: Good for More Than Flooring!

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 10, 2013

By now, many of us are aware of the beauty of cork as a flooring material. Cork floors come in a range of shades and styles, and all of them are durable and gorgeous. They're also sturdy...

Photo: SQUAIO/Morguefile

Save Energy: Wrap Your Plumbing

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 10, 2013

Feeling the cold this winter? So is your plumbing, and it, along with your water heater, has to work harder to compensate. But it doesn't have to be that way if you give it a helping...

Photo: Living Off Grid/Flickr

Keeping Your Chickens Warm this Winter

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 09, 2013

Here in the Bay Area, it's getting extremely cold this month, a reminder that winter is not messing around, even in California. But humans aren't the only ones feeling the chill --...

Photo: Kandi and Rebekah/Hometalk

Amazing Closet Remodels from Hometalk

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 06, 2013

Sometimes, a closet is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. While some of us may struggle to find needed storage space in our homes, longing for just one more closet, others are...

Photo: Mark Fowler/Flickr

Ugh, House Mice!

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 05, 2013

'twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...We've all read the poem, but really, who wants mice stirring in their house...

Photo: bnilsen/Flickr

10 Uses for Twist Ties

Posted by Katie Marks | Dec 04, 2013

Does anyone else feel like the junk drawer is exploding with twist ties? They come with every box of garbage bags, they keep your bread bags shut (if they aren't clipped with plastic),...