How much work/effort are you willing/able to put into this project?

I have no skills of my own for this, from removing the existing fixture, to adding a new, plus patching the mess. It's probably a question of what am I willing to pay someone to do this for me.

We have the same ones (in white) -- and this is how we will replace them eventually - Portfolio track lighting from Lowes

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes.com -- Portfolio track lights

Interesting, Teacats. My nextdoor neighbors (the whole subdivision has the same fixture in the kitchen) had theirs replaced with a solar tube that comes with a light, but I have enough natural light that I don't need the tube.

I'm wondering if cans may what I need: provide additional light without having to ponder complimentary fixture styles.

What would you think about just painting the whole box white first, and seeing if it didnt bug you as much?

As much as I don't like those light boxes, I think it is because of the light that comes From them, rather than the box itself.

Fallingwater has light boxes like this with a more shoji feel. The difference is that they are backlit by incandescent bulbs , not bright fluorescent. I wonder what Yours would look like with four lower wattage bulbs centered in each square, even if they were fluorescent.

I cant tell if the plastic is that prismatic stuff or not but you might be able to get something more rice papery looking...in fact that is what they put in shoji screens now, a plastic or fiberglas material.

You know, Palimpsest, painting the whole box did occur to me today. It would help make the box less obtrusive looking. Although I hate to say it, but after 10 years, I have learned to not notice it much anymore. It's when my daughter visits and goes, "Mom! That light!" The kitchen's being painted sage in a couple of weeks. I was on the fence about ceiling color (the rest of the house will have white ceilings), but now I need to factor in the light.

I hate fluorescent lights. These are old school tube lights and the fixture hums when it's on. So, I'm not sure I could center a smaller type bulb without a major retrofit. The plastic isn't that prismatic stuff (small mercies), just frosty and light-diffusing.

Painting might not be such a bad idea. Aside from the fact that all work has to be done at the ceiling level.

It may involve some retrofitting but it would still be hidden by the box so it wouldnt have to be...the tidyest thing in the world.

Did you ask the neighbors what was involved in removing theirs? Our current house was built in the early 70's and had very similar light boxes in the kitchen and laundry. I was afraid of how much ceiling damage there would be, but it was quite minimal. Removing it wasn't difficult at all, just bulky. I only had to patch two dime size holes in the ceiling drywall where the bolts were. Our ceiling had popcorn texture which crumbled down in places when we removed the light boxes, but we were scraping all the ceiling anyway, so it wasn't a problem.

Even if you don't need the fixture for light, replacing it would give you a nice decorative element in the room and might take the focus off all the oak. We remodeled our whole kitchen, but the new light fixtures make some of the biggest impact, I feel.

Here's a partial photo of one of mine (white light box):