I chose to not do pendants. i have other kinds of lighting and prefer not to have the pendants in my way.

No, they aren’t out of style. I’m going with three simple flush mounts though as my ceilings are only 8’ and I personally find them distracting.

They are not IN or OUT of style. They are an optional layer in design/lighting of each individual kitchen space.

I built in 2021 and did not put pendants over my island. I have a triple window unit over the sink wall that is 10 ft wide x 5 ft tall, and I placed a pendant over each of the outer windows. That wall is also tiled to the ceiling with no upper cabinets. I wanted people to look through the kitchen space and see that window/wall/tile as the focal point of the space.

I also have a pendant/chandelier over the kitchen table and one over the family room area, and for me, pendants over the island would have been too close to the other hanging lights.

But it does come down to personal taste/style. Neither option is right or wrong.

No clue whether they're in or out of style. Doesn't matter to me -- I don't like hanging light fixtures, so I have recessed.

Not out of style but the decision is based on all the elements and volume of the room. Post photos.

BeverlyFLADeziner, just posted a pic. . I was having trouble with the process.

For your kitchen design and layout I'd go recessed.

I much prefer pendants: they bring the light down closer to the island, which seems to be more functional /more useful.

I dislike ceiling acne -- I mean, recessed lighting.

Your ceiling does have an awful lot going on.

If you don't like pendants, get rid of them. Style and trends shouldn't enter into it. Instead, consider the overall effect. Your wafer lights do create a lot of pattern on the ceiling. Adding pottery above your cabinets, combined with all the wafer lights, creates a cluttered look. It looks like great pottery that is degraded to clutter because of how it is displayed. Leave the space above the cabinets completely vacant. Display your beautiful pottery somewhere else.

Recessed can be varied with different bulb output patterns. Narrow spot, spot, wide spot flood at different intensities and controlled with a dimmer. Choice positioning to allow you to work with sharp knives without shadowing from your hands and body. That's the goal for the work zones usually counters. If you don't have upper cabinet doors pendants over your counters could work and be a decorative design element.

Guess I am the opposite. I don't care for recessed lights. I have some in my home but not in my kitchen.

I look at pendants over the island as task lighting. That is where we do our meal prep and prefer the light to be down where it is needed.

If you don't like pendants then get recessed. There is no right or wrong with this.

For a more opened look consider removing some of the items from the top of the cabinets and changing the style of the pendants.