Awesome, thanks for the reply! Let me check the dry wall approach. I was just trying to avoid extra work... Haha. But if it is the right way, I'll do it right instead of cutting a corner.

2nd approach you mentioned does not work here because the other side is just stairs and no power. But I have another closet which needs similar work and it has power on the other side of the wall. I can easily tap into it. Thanks for the idea!