I’m really not familiar with this style of photography (although as I see your photos I do recognize the style), but two things that I’m thinking:
1- If you use a tripod rather than doing a hand-held shot, you should be able to get a higher quality image, both by using manual focus, and using a slower shutterspeed rather than a high ISO.
2- I’d imagine, since it’s called “flat lay” photography that there should be a little less depth in the image. I notice it particularly in the sifter in the top left corner and the measuring cup in the lower right corner. Correct me if I’m wrong about that. 🙂
One other thing- personally, I’m not a huge fan of the modern editing style as seen in the third image. To me, I find it tends to look dark and dingy. However, if you actually like the style and you want to edit some of your photos that way, there’s totally nothing wrong with that! It’s very much a thing of personal preference. I know that style is popular at the moment, but fads come and go anyways, and I’m just not crazy about it. 🙂
The other benefit to using a tripod is that you would be able to set up your shot, and then experiment with different amounts of utensils to see how “cluttered” or simple you’d like it to be.