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: clconroy/Morguefile

Welcome Bats to Your Garden

Posted by Katie Marks | Feb 04, 2014

Bees, mason and otherwise, are among our favorite pollinators, but there's another group of pollinators out there that doesn't get nearly as much friendly press: bats. That's right!...

Photo: Clarita/Morguefile

Are Built-Ins Worth It?

Posted by Katie Marks | Feb 04, 2014

Built-ins are an incredibly popular aspect of interior design in homes from all eras, from homey Craftsmen with charming woodwork to soaring modern homes with sleek, minimalist shelving...

Photo: Stacy Spensley/Flickr

Tip: Grow Sweet Potatoes for Health

Posted by Katie Marks | Feb 03, 2014

How much do you know about sweet potatoes? These delicious, versatile tubers come in a huge array of colors, shapes, and sizes, and they're also incredibly nutritious. If you're looking...

Photo: Orangeaurochs/Flickr

Bees in the Fridge?!

Posted by Katie Marks | Feb 03, 2014

We spend a lot of time talking about honeybees here at Networx, because they're fantastic pollinators and they produce a tasty byproduct. However, honeybees are just one among over...

These shoes could be on a tension rod shoe rack! Photo: Danny Molyneux/Flickr

10 Amazing Uses for Tension Rods

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 31, 2014

If you've ever been a college student, or just an adult who doesn't stand on ceremony, you've probably dealt with a tension rod. These nifty little rods expand and collapse to fit irregular...

Photo: Carissa Rogers/Flickr

Put Down the Splenda!

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 30, 2014

It's January, which means many people are trying to lose weight as a part of their New Year's resolutions. Sugar's a common target in diets, because it's a large source of calories...

Photo: Emily St Aubert/Flickr

February Garden Checklist

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 30, 2014

January is about to draw to a close, which means it's time to talk turkey...I mean, February. This shortest month of the year will hopefully bring about the end of the coldest winter...

Photo: Tami/Hometalk

Converting to Xeriscaping

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 29, 2014

With a drought just declared in California, I have my garden on the brain, and I'm not the only one. Many people in my community have allowed their gardens to die over the last few...

Photo: kevinrosseel/Morguefile

An Introduction to Tea Gardens

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 28, 2014

Do you love tea? This beverage, originating in Asia, has been consumed for centuries, and thanks to careful plant breeding, the development of scores of harvesting and processing techniques,...

Photo: Bryn Prinzgauer/Flickr

Is Geothermal Right for You?

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 27, 2014

Geothermal energy is pretty amazing: by circulating water through a series of pipes under your house, you bring the warmth of the earth up in the winter, and force heat and humidity...