Hello, Charles and Hudson readers — I could use your experienced advice. I’m dealing with a problem involving two upstairs bedroom light junction boxes and I’m hoping you can suggest practical solutions.
As you can see in the photo, the junction boxes protrude from the ceiling into the rooms. They hang below the ceiling plane and are clearly visible, which has become an eyesore. I’ve struggled to find a practical way to conceal or relocate them without major work.
The main complication is that both junction boxes are attached directly to the underside of a continuous beam that runs the length of the house. The ceilings are plaster-on-lath, so there are many narrow lathe strips across the ceiling that make accessing or modifying the area above the box difficult without extensive demolition. The plaster is already cracked and fragile above these spots, and any effort to move wiring above or around the beam would likely cause the plaster to collapse.
Because these are bedrooms used by my children, I’d prefer to avoid a full rewire or large-scale ceiling repair for the entire upstairs. That makes options requiring demolishing or rebuilding large sections of the plaster ceiling impractical.
I’ve explored other ideas. I looked for ceiling medallions or decorative covers, but most medallions assume a flush-mounted junction box at the ceiling’s center and don’t work well with these hanging boxes. I’m aware of shallow-depth junction boxes; in fact, we believe a shallower box was installed when the current light fixture went in. The previous owners had flush-mount lights that masked the problem better, which is why the issue wasn’t obvious at first. I’d rather not replace perfectly good light fixtures just to hide the box.
This has been an unresolved problem for nearly four years. I’m out of fresh ideas and would welcome creative, practical suggestions that avoid major ceiling demolition or a complete electrical overhaul. If you’ve encountered a similar situation or know of products or installation techniques that would allow a clean, safe, and code-compliant solution, please share your thoughts. I’m especially interested in options that:
- conceal the protruding junction boxes without altering the plaster ceiling extensively;
- are safe and compliant with electrical codes (for example, solutions that do not bury accessible junctions or create unsafe wiring conditions);
- work with fixtures already in place or require only minimal changes to mounting hardware;
- are durable and suitable for children’s bedrooms.
Thank you in advance for any advice or ideas — I’m ready to try solutions I haven’t thought of. Please share your suggestions and, if possible, include photos, product names, or installation notes that helped you if you’ve solved a similar problem.