We had 80's style ceiling mounted lights above our vanities in most of the baths in our home. During our remodel, we are rerouting the wiring to put in traditional wall-mounted light fixtures. The reroute is really no big deal, wiring wise. It is a bit tricky to match some ceiling textures for the patching that needs to be done, though. In the rooms with little lighting, I look for light bars that can take a high wattage and it has really brightened up the rooms. There are restrictions regarding hanging lights over water. I know that where I live, a pendant light would not pass code over a tub, but I'm not sure about over a sink. Anyway, just thought I would chime in. Hope you get more responses. Sandy

I have an open floor plan and I love my pendants over my island. I seldom use my recessed lighting. I have 2 pendants with a 7 foot island.

This is good to know and exactly what we did. We returned our integrated LED sconces (since they were traditionally styled) and went with sconces that would accommodate LED bulbs. I just didn't want to risk having to change out an entire fixture, because the light goes dead. We've used LED bulbs for some time now and despite the promises that they last 5 years and longer, we've definitely had to change some bulbs out as soon as a year. So just not worth the risk for me right now. I'm thinking in the near future things will be more perfected and integrated LED will be more the norm. But I'll wait for that to happen before I go with it.

definitely do not need pendants if the lighting is adequate. dimmer can give you evening ambience . you might regard pendants as a feature that delineates a seating zone.... but if you have a feature filled space / with your cabinetry/hardware/floor/ and tile etc, you don't have to. Cabinet cost is large part of kitchen expense..many folks must stay within a cost conscious selection of cabinetry and function always beats form ....So the painted two tones/ features w trim /toe kicks/matching interiors can easily be edited out. So lighting and hardware as in newer finishes and those pendants can up the style quotient in a personalized way much cheaper than all the add ons in cabinetry. it just depends.