As I look to paint a still life, I try to keep one spot in focus as far as viewer is concerned. Here in this painting , it is highlight on the vase. Rest of the vase or flowers on the table complement as giving direction or dimention to the whole setup. Grey background is chosen explicitly to give neutral color value to the whole compositions having various bright colors. The simple setup also is optimum in objects and not showing any overcrowding and gives a piece of mind to viewer to look at this for a long time.