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: Alessandra Cimatti/Flickr

Let's Talk Heirloom Corn!

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 27, 2014

Corn was one of many brilliant domestications performed in Mesoamerican culture, with roots tracing back to ancient Peru and Mexico. Brilliant indigenous peoples transformed corn from...

Photo: Julie Moyna/Hometalk

These Dewey Decimals Got Style!

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 24, 2014

I don't want to sound like a fuddy-duddy, but the number of people who still remember card catalogs is starting to wane, and half of kids these days probably wouldn't know what to do...

Photo: lizzardo/Flickr

Reasons to Install GFCI Outlets

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 23, 2014

Have you ever heard people talking about "GFCI outlets" and wondered what in the world they're talking about, let alone whether it's relevant to you? If so, you're not alone: many people...

Photo: Kim Knoch/Flickr

11 Cool Uses for Jars

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 22, 2014

We all know that mason jars are super hip in home decor right now, but what about jars in general? Because jars come in all shapes an sizes, not just the classic mason style, and chances...

Photo: Vipukirves

We've Been Splitting Wood All Wrong

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 22, 2014

Splitting wood is one of the least favorite tasks of wood stove owners, and even for people who are just chopping for a decorative fireplace or pit, it gets un-fun very rapidly. The...

Photo: Surija/Flickr

Is Your Dryer Running Efficiently?

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 21, 2014

As a renter, I don't necessarily get a lot of control over my appliances. And recently the dryer has started acting up, taking longer and longer and longer to dry a load of laundry....

Photo: sideshowmom/Morguefile

Store That Food You're Growing!

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 21, 2014

Now that you're growing all kinds of amazing produce, you may have a problem on your hands: an excess of deliciousness. It's kind of astounding to watch how much even a small garden...

Photo: Wonderlane/Flickr

Carpentry Cost Per Hour

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 20, 2014

Carpenters are highly specialized tradesmen who work almost exclusively with wood. Carpenters assemble, install, refurbish, repair, and conceptualize wooden systems, including structures,...

Photo: independentman/Flickr

Smart Curtains Close Themselves

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 20, 2014

Have you ever found yourself lying on the couch nice and cozy when the sun changes angle, and suddenly it becomes unbearably hot? Imagine being your house, which can't just get up and...

Cats should always be hand-washed lukewarm and allowed to lie flat to dry. Photo: E Photos/Flickr

10 Tips to Go Green in the Laundry Room

Posted by Katie Marks | Jan 20, 2014

The EPA estimates that if Americans went green in the laundry room, they'd save three trillion gallons of water annually, along with over $18 billion per year. The laundry room is a...