Yarbro Home Improvement LLC Picture?

Ironwood Builders From your description you have recessed florescent fixtures, similar to the lay in fixtures for dropped ceilings. I don't have a solution for you other than taking out the fixtures and installing new recessed LED can fixtures. The large openings will make getting the recessed can lights spread throughout the kitchen easier. There are remodel cans for the areas with unscathed drywall. Once a lighting layout is complete, drywall over the larger holes, repair any other damage and repaint.

ledbetterp New cabinets will be installed next week. I want to take care of the lighting before then.

Cindy Quinton Honestly? To me, it is such a dated look, now is the time to update this element if you can afford it. I'd consider taking them out and adding brand new lighting and simply redo the ceiling. You could add anything you wanted at that point. If you can do it yourself, it could all be done on a budget. I bought an eighties home, and just changing all the lighting made an EXTRAORDINARY change in the home. Even if you simply install can lights?

apple_pie_order Congratulations on your kitchen remodel.

It'd be easier to arrive at a lighting plan if you showed photos of the whole kitchen, including the ceiling. Is that a popcorn ceiling? Those look like about 4-foot standard fluorescent fixtures to me; you could replace them with new flush-mount fixtures if you have clearance to open the cabinet doors.

Do you like fluorescents? Do you have energy efficiency restrictions on lighting?

Dytecture Is the kitchen ceiling lower than the rest of the house to allow for these recessed lights ? If so it might be wise to raise the ceiling height and have 'conventional' lighting.

ledbetterp Another view of kitchen. It will be totally gutted w/new appliances and cabinets. We are scraping popcorn ceiling today.

Twisted Minds Custom Designs As long as your scraping popcorn and will be needing to refinish ceiling, I would pull existing fixtures out and have an electrician rewire kitchen with cans or boxes for lighting of your liking. A little drywall patching and you will have exactly what works for your new kitchen.

apple_pie_order I agree with Twisted Minds. Choose what you want after patching.

TRAM Construction Scrapping popcorn off is very tedious and you will never achieve a really nice look especially if you are filling in the two rectangles. You would be better served to pull down the entire ceiling, install new recessed cans where needed and put up a new ceiling. The cost for trying to work around something that is not great to start out with can be just as much as having something new. Then you can have the lights switched at different areas and really make the kitchen attractive. Central lighting of any kind kills the effect. No matter how much money or detail that goes into your project, it is all for nothing if you don't have good lighting.

ledbetterp All done scraping popcorn and it looks great!

ledbetterp New cabinets in. Paint and granite coming this week.

apple_pie_order Looks like a good spacious design and classic cabinet style. Any photos of the de-popcorned ceiling that would show the possible locations for new lighting?

ledbetterp This is what the ceiling looks like right now...

apple_pie_order Superb. Now you can have anything you want. Pot lights, surface flush mount, anything. Good decision to remove the ceiling and not try to work with the recessed fixtures holes.

ledbetterp New cabinets and granite installed.

Norm Walters Construction Inc. You can install crown molding at the bottom of the recess and install rope lighting behind the crown.

ledbetterp Getting there...backsplash coming today.

ledbetterp Kitchen desk before we bought the house and after remodel.

apple_pie_order Wow, just wow.

ledbetterp Backsplash installed---grouting set for Monday.

ledbetterp And one more...