Electrical – How to wire a new outlet from a light switch, with light switch set-up I’ve never seen before

This explanation assumes you are trying to control both sets of lights at the same time and not independently.

If they are on the same circuit, having separate hot wires to each switch is really redundant. The return wires from the switches are not.

There is no problem ganging both lighting fixtures on the same switch so long as the switch is rated for the power the fixtures draw. Most modern dimmers are rated 150, 300, 600 or 1000 watts. You need to make sure that the two fixtures, added together, are somewhat lower than the switch rating. If not, your gonna need a bigger switch!

All you need to do is hook one of the hot lines to the switch and cap the other hot line with a wirenut. Then pigtail both of the two switched lines (that return to the fixtures) to the switch output side. Do be sure to attach ground, for safety and to reduce the chance of random hum.

All of this assumes that the dimmers are suitable to the type of lighting (special dimmers are needed for many CFL and LED bulbs), that they are single pole (not three way), and there is no special feature requiring a neutral.

SUPPLEMENT

As Tester101 needs to regularly remind me, current code calls for a neutral wire at all switches. You have an extra wire in the switch box (the redundant hot) that could be converted to a neutral if you ever need it. You would need to switch it over at the fixture to the neutral white line, mark it at the fixture to show it is neutral (e.g., with white tape) and mark it at the switch box as neutral (also white tape).

Two options:

1) Replace the ceiling fixture with a pull chain model, plus an outlet. Bypass the present switch.

2) Run a new cable from the outlet to the switch box. Your picture shows white color NM cable, so presumably it is 14/2 (black, white, ground, 15 amp maximum). Obtain more wire, and hook three wires (black, white and ground) into the respective positions in the couplers.

Read up on basic electrical safety before attempting any of this. The bottom bundle, as you wrote, is the incoming hot.