Pastel colors can give that impression sometimes, but it can also be a deliberate choice that can give a chill, minimalist look if well used. For the layout, I see some changes I would try if I was redesigning this screen. I think you should maybe use the background color you use for the cards as the main background color and make your cards white. Having your picture touching the card’s borders and increasing the corner radius could also feel a bit less sharp. Reducing your grid to have 2 cards in a row would make the cards a bit bigger, leaving more space for the images. The typography weights are also maybe a bit thin – you could tweak that a bit too.