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: Geert Schneider/Flickr

Clever Home Upgrade: Hot Buffet

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 22, 2013

I was really struck this morning by this super cool project featured on This Old House: a hot buffet, made with an existing radiator. The hot buffet project is part of a roundup of...

Photo: Jenia M/Flickr

8 Great Uses for Beeswax

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 22, 2013

Beeswax. If you're a bee, it's an important part of the structure of your hive. If you're a human, it makes a great scented candle material. This smooth-burning wax produces delightful...

Photo: Laura Trevey/Hometalk

How to Organize Your Home Office

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 21, 2013

Whether you work from home full-time or need a functional space in your home to perform some work-related tasks, a home office is a very important area in the household. Unfortunately,...

Photo: Robert A/Hometalk

Renovate a Bathroom in 24 Hours

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 20, 2013

If you live in an older home, you may well be grinding your teeth over your bathroom. Considering how much time we spend in our bathrooms, there's good reason to want yours to be a...

Photo: Gabriel Anast/Flickr

Protecting Your Plants From Frost

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 20, 2013

With November rapidly galloping towards a close, the nights are starting to get very, very chilly in many corners of the US. In some regions, frost is already on the ground, while in...

Photo: Rachel Titiriga/Flickr

Getting to Know Enzymatic Cleaners

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 19, 2013

If you've been hunting for ecologically-friendly cleaning options, chances are high that you've encountered enzymatic cleaners, which lift dirt, grime, and odors without introducing...

Field Outdoor Spaces/flickr

Is A Rain Chain Right for Your Home?

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 19, 2013

Rains have finally come to Northern California, leading to widespread jubilation among residents who were starting to worry about drought, but along with rain comes a perennial winter...

Photo: Raindrop Gutter Guard Systems/Hometalk

6 Wood Pallet Scavenging Tips for Your Next Project

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 18, 2013

As every great DIYer knows, wood pallets are an immensely useful construction material. You can use them in a wide range of projects, in a huge assortment of ways, and they're usually...

Photo: Fireclay Tile

Turning Obsolete CRT Screens Into Gorgeous Glass Tile

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 18, 2013

Thanks to the ready availability of affordable flat screens, many homes are renovating their computer and home entertainment setups to take advantage of high-resolution, low-footprint...

Photo: Nina Hale/Flickr

Attic Remodels Increase Value, Square Footage

Posted by Katie Marks | Nov 15, 2013

If your house feels a little cramped for your needs, there are a wide variety of solutions to the problem. You could move around some walls inside to use the space more efficiently,...