Hey Houzzers!

Hubby and I are remodeling the guest bath (on a tight budget), and it's basically builder grade in many ways - including over the mirror cheesy lighting, tile countertop, lack of storage, shower curtain, etc... here's the starting point:

He's already added over the bath lighting and changed the fan... we're going to be painting the vanity (not sure of color yet, but likely some version of white) - as well as framing out that wall, so that it looks something like this:

We're adding behind the door cabinet storage so the toilet rack will be gone, replacing the tiled countertop and backsplash... but leaving the travertine alone.

Reason for this thread: As you can see in our inspiration image, there are pendants over the vanity - and we like the look. In theory, the functionality should be there as well, since they'd provide lighting similar to that of a sconce - from the sides, as opposed to from the top, which would create shadows.

Upon further research, it looks like there's some negative feedback about how appropriate pendants are in the bathroom.

Any thoughts from anyone here?

What would be the case against pendants, considering there are already two other light sources in this bath.

Should there be another recessed light added over the vanity in addition to the sconces?

Should we be sticking with over the mirror lighting and just change that sconce out for something more sophisticated? It'd be going over the paneling.

Thanks for any thoughts/feedback!