Spring is the season of celebrating life, and there’s no event that brings more joy than the birth of a new baby. Following tradition, friends and family gather to honor the mother- and father-to-be, showering gifts on the young family and their new addition.

At Life:Beautiful, we have been blessed with being a part of this tradition as expectant staff members have welcomed new babies into the world. So when art director, Lauren Northness, was close to delivering, we gathered to honor her and husband, Mike, with a shower.

Lauren’s love for gray and yellow and clean-style graphics drove the design. The need to keep things quick and easy influenced decisions, but didn’t compromise style or food choices.

The result: a beautiful, easy gathering for busy people. These shower ideas will readily translate into other color options and other celebrations, such as wedding showers, anniversaries or birthdays.

No matter what palette you’ve set for the design, color has the power to impact a space in a big way for little cost. Use fabric—it’s inexpensive and can be cut to cover con-tainers, food and gift tables, or to line baskets and create banners. We used two stripes and a chevron pattern. The patterns hid the fact that the tablecloths were not hemmed and the flags were simply folded over white cord and stapled.

Purchase stretched art canvas and paint it one of your party colors. The canvas offers space for a sign or hand-painted message.

Neutral furniture from a nearby family room swapped places with fussy living room furniture for the day. Pillows and a side table further supported the color theme. These can be brought from other rooms or borrowed for the event.