How can I cover an ugly hole so I can hang pendant lighting?

when we remodeled our kitchen 13 years ago we got this ugly oak looking frame with white middle and 2 fluorescent long bulbs with a white covering. I hate it. They even hung it to where you can see light under the frame so my husband put black felt strips under the frame. i want a new pendant lighting sooo bad! My husband said when they tore the old top cabinets down they left a huge hole and that’s why we have a wide frame. Any ideas???

  13 answers
  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Jan 11, 2020

    Patching your ceiling - filling in the hole, patching the sheetrock or plaster is one option. Filling in the opening, and redoing the ceiling with decorative tile, plank etc. is another. Either option would give you the ability to add pendants. Good luck!

  • Hi, Wendylou!

    Depending on the size of the hole, you may be able to cover it up with a decorative ceiling medallion that fits around the round electrical box for the wiring. The light will hang from the center and most of the medallions can be painted. A quick search on Google will yield a ton of results! I hope this helps!

  • Mogie Mogie on Jan 11, 2020

    We had lights very similar in our kitchen and I hated them too. We sort of cheated and when we put up new lights we used on of the holes for the new lights and their medallions covered the spot nicely. The second hole was small so we just used some compound to fill it in, primed and painted it. But that was after texturing the ceiling it all blended in together. I got a can of orange peel texture from amazon.com and it looks wonderful. But we needed to apply two coats of paint to tie in the color completely.

    • See 1 previous
    • Wendylou from GA Wendylou from GA on Jan 12, 2020

      Sorry yes there is a window over the sink. So sorry

  • Sharon Sharon on Jan 11, 2020

    Fix the ceiling, not that hard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhfz2HNuL7s then you can have your dream fixture.

  • Morgan McBride Morgan McBride on Jan 11, 2020

    You can purchase drywall patch kits!

  • Laura Cooper Laura Cooper on Jan 12, 2020

    I agree with Sharon! Why deal with trying to accommodate a hole you don't want when patching drywall isn't that hard. You can cut a piece of drywall to fit in your hole and screw it to the joists, then tape and mud edges and cut your new hole to your exact preference.

    Here is my drywall pro-tip: when you mud the seams, you will need to apply several coats of mud (usually 3). Make those coats thin and sand in between. Use a wider knife with each coat so that your final skim coat is at least a 10" blade. And be sure to prime the drywall prior to repainting.

  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Jan 12, 2020

    I agree to fix the hole. But - I don't see how a pendant light will work in your kitchen where that fixture is. Isn't it over the open floor part of the kitchen to light all the work areas???

    • See 1 previous
    • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Jan 13, 2020

      You need to check how many lumens (a lighting measurement) your kitchen needs and how many you already have via the existing light sources. This sounds really complicated but it is not so read this article to calculate your needs.

      https://www.hunker.com/13412735/how-to-calculate-lumens-per-square-foot


      From there, figure out how many lumens the existing fluorescent fixture has (should be on the fixture/bulbs) and, if that has sufficient light for you now, you should replicate that number of lumens with your new fixtures.


      Put simply, make sure the new pendants throw the same amount of work light as your existing fixture. For example you may love 2 navy pendants that each hold a 60 watt bulb. A total of 120 watts in an opaque shaded fixture will not give you nearly as much light as what your 4 fluorescent tubes are giving you and I don't think you would be happy.


      Also consider the height you will hang your pendants at. It looks like you've got a slanted ceiling. Not only do you have to consider the height the pendants look good at, remember that the lower you hang them, the less light will be thrown over the entire kitchen area. You may have to put in a few can lights around the other counter areas.


  • Wendylou from GA Wendylou from GA on Jan 12, 2020

    Here’s a couple pics


    • Sharon Sharon on Jan 12, 2020

      Before you seal the hole in the ceiling for removing the old light fixture, you pull the wires to the area where the new fixture will be. Relocate the junction box and drill/cut a hole in the area where the new fixture will be placed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GjxTv_4wrc

  • Dee Dee on Jan 18, 2020

    We took down the light, then put up a nice thin routed board. kept an opening for the light fixture and wires. We painted the board the same color as the ceiling. It became a big medallion. then we centered the light fixture on the board. Looks great.

    By the way I have used that Homax orange peel that Mogi spoke about, on another ceiling when we changed the light fixture and that stuff is great. Matches the texture, and you would never know the area was repaired. They also make texture in a can for wall repairs.

  • 17335038 17335038 on Jan 19, 2020

    Pendant lights will give light in selected contained small areas only. If you are wanting more light in the entire kitchen, not just over the peninsula (where the stove is), then my suggestion is to install a cloud style integrated LED light.


    This type of fixture is flush mounted, and is available in different shapes, examples below. It will emit an even, shadowless light over a wide area. To adjust light according to seasons and times of day, install a dimmer switch.

  • Lucky Home Today Lucky Home Today on Jan 21, 2020

    If you don't fix the hole, perhaps painting the oak to help blend it in. Or drop the lights down, but put some type of mesh materials to help hide the connection/what's inside.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Jul 21, 2023

    Patch the hole with drywall, prime and paint. That done, a pendant light may not offer you the amount of light needed for a kitchen, consider a large flat close to the ceiling light that will not create shadows or dark spots in work areas.