it isn't something I'd recommend. but...if you do... then use only LED or CFL's bulbs from here on out. most recessed light has a heat sensor when the heat gets to a certain point it shuts off. closing the holes that lets the heat escape will trip the sensor. there are inserts that install from inside the house to make IC lights ICAT. (insulation contact...insulation contact air tight_ take model number & brand name, go to mfg's website & search for ICAT inserts. once the inserts are installed, use a mastic tape to seal the gap between the housing & the sheetrock. removing the trim gives you good access to this other leakage site. once the trim is replaced, it hides the mastic tape used to seal oversized cut in sheetrock. best of luck.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone, and your concern that my treadmill be used. Yayagal, your comment was hilarious. What a sense of humor! Apparently the fold up screen is not a big deal. I will wait several months as several have suggested to see how this plays out. If putting it into position becomes too difficult, I'll move it into the garage and exercise out there. There is no way I'm going to have a treadmill sitting in a nicely furnished room -- that's just me. The other bedroom has a bed taking up almost the entire room, which is where I sleep. If it stays inside, I'll post photos for feedback.

Depending on the cost, I intend to do a full-fledged professional conversion of the left half of my 23 ft wide x 20 ft deep garage into a 10 ft wide x 20 ft deep practice space for my very loud drummer husband who currently practices in our aluminum sunroom (bless our neighbors who have put up with him for 15 yrs! & me for having no sunlight entering the back of my house ; ). Most say I'm crazy to do this, but this is probably our forever home, Charleston is a hot market, and I could describe it as a theater room if I ever were to sell. We live in a flood zone so our house is 5 ft high. There are steps leading down to garage which is at ground level. We would begin by framing in half of the garage facade & installing a new single door to replace the current double door. Once that is done we would have the most expensive part: the concrete piers extending from the garage slab floor to support the new floor so it is level with the rest of the house. We are lucky to have a garage with a huge ceiling! Sooo back to the original question, how do I make the exterior look normal? It helps that we have a huge oak tree in front so the driveway is only a few feet long in front of where the new room will be, helping it blend. My concern is merely what will become the dead/negative/blank space. It will just be a wall of nothing but boring vinyl siding 10 ft wide and 8 ft high (see photos/it will be the left side). Thank you all so much!!! Sorry for being so long winded.

Even if it's available, the patch is going to stick out like a sore thumb. If it were me, I'd close up the hole and then figure out a way to disguise it, like putting a pair of window shutters over the hole, or a trellis if you live in an area where you could hide it with a bushy, evergreen vine.