If you're wanting different lighting & bulbs why not remove the box altogether and put in a new light fixture?

I did remove the florescents. All that is left is the box. It is a long rectangle, and I am wondering what type of light to put in. Would love to see photos of examples.

Here's one example with molding and chandelier

another idea but no pic:

Rice Paper

For a more temporary solution, rice paper can be fashioned into a cover for any fluorescent light, essentially acting as a lamp shade. Affix rice paper to a frame made out of wood or wire to cover the fixture. This can be attached to the ceiling, wall or even to the fixture itself, depending on what best suits your needs. A rice paper shade gives you more flexibility than a diffuser because it can be used on wall lights and table lights and can be molded to hide a light from any direction, while diffusers only hide the light from below.

one more...of course you'd use a different fixture in a bath, but you get the idea - and maybe a painted panel instead of the steel.

{{!gwi}}
"For the over-island lights, I took the old fluorescent fixture's frame, gutted it except for it's mounting bar, and installed a couple of light-mounting electrical boxes to support the lamps. Next I wired up the new boxes and connected them to the original ceiling box, cut some galvanized steel to enclose the works and installed the lights. I lightly sanded a swirl pattern into the galvanized steel to make it look less stark."

Mine is an indented box. I have to hang something in the box that is about 2 feet deep.

I still don't understand why you don't remove the box itself.

I'm as confused as kswl -- why not take the whole box out? Can you show a picture?

Here is a photo. Sorry for the poor description. This will help.

Ours wasn't a "box" but a recessed area with a drop down ceiling that hid the flourescent fixture.

This is our kitchen, we put can lighting in...

I've also seen something like this done (I have no idea where this picture came from)

I see lots of fun things you can do with that space. Starting with a different light fixture or prefurably several ,something thats fun as well as functional and some paint inside the hole. Or you could keep the fixture you have in it and add a frame with glass over the hole. The glass part of the frame could be frosted or some other fun glass art done to it so it hides that theres a light behind it when off. I love the first idea of a fun light and some paint really making a statement of that space.

Thanks for the photos and links! They are helpful. The bathroom is coming together. Since my box is not centered nicely on the vanity, I may use a simple fixture on the ceiling of the box. Or, I may end up using two pendants in the box. Sorry. I don't know how to turn the picture!

How about a mirror, unframed and a small chrystal chandolier hanging from the center The mirror need not be as big as the box ....just big enough to reflect the lighted chandolier..

what is the height of the rest of the ceiling? Why not just fill it in if the height is reasonable. Ie drywall over it. Then no worries about it being off center. Maybe put some recessed lights that are centered on the ceiling and then drywall around it and nobody knows where the recess is.

All the houses in my tract have had them. Most, I think have replaced the florescents with recessed lights and added moldings around the edges. We hate recessed lights so had two light fixtuers instead.

I had something like this in the kitchen of my previous home. We put a pretty chandelier in the center, which we would not have been able to do had the ceiling been flush. You can also put crown around the top of the box, which we never got around to doing, to make it look more finished and intentional. Good luck.