Natalie Knowles

Natalie Knowles is a Home & Gardens product writer for Yours, Modern Gardens, Take A Break Pets, and A Modern Kitchen.

Natalie joined Bauer Media as a Commercial Content Writer in 2022 following four years with newspaper and magazine publisher Archant. With brands in her life as magazines and online, sharing her thoughts on the latest appliances, homeware, gardening accessories and pet products is a dream role.

Before moving into journalism and lifestyle publications, Natalie worked in educational publishing for seven years. Her time in London was packed with showbiz. She was frequently in the audience for major talk shows, including Graham Norton, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, and The Jonathan Ross Show. With Shepperton and Pinewood studios a car drive away, Natalie had the wonderful experience of seeing Graham Linehan direct Count Arthur Strong and a sneaky peak at the filming of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Indulging in a bit of celebrity spotting in London was a walk down Portobello Market or a full-on mission to the Fountain Studios to get the X Factor contestants’ autographs. Highlights include hugging the Backstreet Boys and seeing Beyonce perform a jaw-dropping tribute to Michael Jackson at the O2 on her Mrs Carter Show World Tour.

Natalie put her Duolingo skills to good use and travelled all over Europe on weekend jaunts to Berlin, Lisbon, Nice, and Madrid – to name but a few. These wonderful travel experiences fuelled Natalie’s love of continental café culture. Whenever life gives you lemons, Natalie recommends witnessing the spectacle of Menton’s Fête du Citron to inspire and awe.

In addition, Natalie was a member of the Association of Illustrators and Cluster London Illustration. As well as exhibiting in London, her artistic talent took her to Chongqing, China where she gave a presentation to 30 creatives at the Testbed 2 Arts Centre.

After years of living on the Heathrow flight path and negotiating the delayed trains at Waterloo, Natalie returned to her home county of Norfolk. She's delighted to cat-sit for relatives and enjoy the classy independent shopping scene in Norwich, as well as the unspoilt beaches on the North Norfolk coast. But that doesn't mean she's slowing down. Natalie got into film extra work and appeared in Danny Boyle's Yesterday as a music journalist. She also regularly exhibits with local contemporary art groups in unusual venues around Norwich.

With a BA (Hons) in Film & American Studies, movies are an enduring passion and Natalie loves to discuss them in a film club. One of her life highlights was seeing a screening of Snowpiercer, introduced in person by Mark Kermode.

Science fiction and Cyberpunk are another of Natalie's passions. So much so, she wrote, illustrated and self-published her short novel Flashboy Max: Superking and the Quest for Pandora. While she considers her novel writing skills a work in progress, she is adept at writing articles, how-to guides, and product reviews. Should you choose to find out more about Natalie's creative projects you can visit natalieknowlesart.com or follow her art account on Instagram.

Natalie is naturally an omnivore for everything lifestyle, home, and culture. In her product reviews, she is delighted to share her experience furnishing a new home. Her relatable accounts of buying a washing machine with the ideal capacity and making the house and garden kitten-proof will inform and amuse.

Natalie's top buying tips for readers:

• Measure every wall, window, door, and floor. The drop between the windows and floor is crucial for curtains. Is the table high enough to fit those dining chairs? Always have the dimensions to hand, you never know when you’ll come across the ideal sofa.

• Countertop space in the kitchen is like gold-dust. Before you buy that air fryer, prioritise what is most important: a SodaStream, coffee machine, multicooker or plant milk maker... all of them, please!

• The hunt is both real and virtual. Yes, the best deals are online, but where possible, try and see what you’re buying. Visit retail parks and department stores to understand the item’s dimensions. That bean bag looked tiny online... you may have to jettison a coffee table to make room.

• Finally, there will be so much cardboard, plastic, and polystyrene packing. Be prepared to visit the recycling centre ... or build the kittens a fort! It's great to give kudos to brands that have recyclable packaging – do leave them a positive review to show that consumers care about sustainability.

With meticulous attention to detail, Natalie's areas of expertise are:

• Small kitchen appliances

• Travel

• Coffee culture

• Home furnishing

• Creative arts

• Wholesome food and cooking

• And a little bit of Noughties showbiz

Follow Natalie's lifestyle Instagram: @accessallreviews