Three Easy Ways to Welcome Spring From Food and Prop Stylist Rachel Grunig

Spring is almost here and with it another chance to refresh our menu and home. Who better to tap for spring styling tips than food and prop stylist Rachel Grunig! This winter, Rachel has been busy styling yummy eats and beautiful tabletops for clients like PCC and ChefSteps, but she took a moment to share some easy and inexpensive ways to welcome spring.

What do you most look forward to in the coming months?

The first thing I notice about spring is the change in light. Slowly but surely, sunset gets later and later, and I find myself happily surprised when it’s still light out at 6pm. I have a lot of houseplants, and they definitely react to the increase in light and start to grow a bit more and seem happier. It's a lovely reminder that the weather is warming up.

How do you plan on styling for spring this year?

For styling, I find that I'm drawn to all things light and bright. I love all the shades that emerge after the gray winter, particularly in all of the budding trees. There’s an amazing star magnolia on my street that has flowers with an incredible range of cream, pale yellow and barely green. I love taking walks around my neighborhood to see what trees are starting to bloom.

One quick way to bring spring inside is to snap off a small tree branch on a walk.

A second easy and inexpensive way is to give your space a good spring cleaning. The change in seasons motivates me to take a good look at everything that’s accumulated over the winter and pare down so that my space feels roomy and open to new things.

How do you plan to celebrate spring with your menu choices?

As far as food goes, I’m definitely ready to shake things up! After a winter of bolognese and roasts I feel inspired to eat obscene amounts of vegetables. I love the fresh, tender produce that comes with spring. Ramps are one of my favorites and are extra special because they’re only available for such a short time. I like to hit the farmer’s market on the weekends and get whatever looks best. My husband Josh has close relationships with a lot of the farmer’s market vendors in Seattle because he sources local produce for the bakery and also has a booth at a few farmer’s markets - which means that he gets an inside line on what great produce is coming. We end up making huge jumbles of vegetables tossed in any sort of vinaigrette (Meyer lemon is my favorite) that, if we’re lucky, our children will also eat.

To see what Rachel's been up to lately visit us at www.sallyreps.com.

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