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: colorhome/Flickr.com

Small Bath? Don't Panic!

Posted by Katie Marks | Oct 02, 2013

Small bathrooms are a common problem, especially in older homes, where apparently people were either microscopic, or didn't mind cramming in next to the tub to wash their hands at the...

Photo: vema/morguefile.com

Using Concrete the Green Way

Posted by Katie Marks | Oct 02, 2013

Visitors to Italy often take time to visit ancient Roman sites, and marvel at the fact that these structures continue to remain standing today. The extant infrastructure of the Romans...

Photo: Muffet/Flickr.com

8 Reasons to Love Salvage Yards

Posted by Katie Marks | Oct 01, 2013

One of my favorite places in Berkeley is Urban Ore, a giant salvage yard located just across the Bay from downtown San Francisco. I can't imagine anything further than the glamor and...

Photo: Alvimann/morguefile.com

Green Cleaning Tips for Cat Pee

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 30, 2013

I love my cats. What I don't love is their pee. When it's confined to the litterbox, that's great, but sometimes they miss, or they're not feeling well, and they don't quite make it...

Photo: suezoo/morguefile.com

Straight Talk on Meat and Dairy in the Compost

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 30, 2013

Compost: in many ways, it's totally magical. You dump food waste, lawn clippings, paper, and other things into your compost pile; care for it; and wait for the pile to generate rich,...

Photo: brewbooks/Flickr.com

Old-Fashioned Touches for Your Home

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 27, 2013

Whether you live in a historic home that's been mutilated by "remodels," a modern home with a historic aesthetic that lacks many of the accents you might expect, or a new home that...

Photo: Windell Oskay/Flickr.com

9 Refreshing Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 26, 2013

Hydrogen peroxide. It's that weird-smelling stuff in the brown bottle that your dad used to dab on your skinned knees when you were a kid. It was kind of cool to watch it bubble up,...

Photo: krosseel/morguefile.com

Your Guide to Green Lawn Care

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 25, 2013

There's nothing quite like a sweep of emerald-green lawn, is there? It's a beautiful thing to see, but unfortunately, lawns are often laden with toxic chemicals: harsh chemical fertilizers;...

Photo: Tanya P/Hometalk

12 Uses for Epsom Salt

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 25, 2013

When I hear the words "Epsom salt," I think of those containers I see in the store and how you're supposed to add Epsom salt to a bath if you have aching muscles. So I got curious when...

Photo: Posh Surfside/Flickr.com

Tips for Making a Small House Work for You

Posted by Katie Marks | Sep 24, 2013

Living in a small space can sometimes feel suffocating, especially if you like entertaining. It's one reason many people gravitate towards larger homes, even with the tiny house movement...