You can buy foamcore...meant for picture framing very cheaply, like $1 for a 3 by 4 sheet.....glue it up with a hot glue gun and it will look a lot better than drop cloths....can be painted and you can remove a panel easily if you need to get to some wiring or something. $40 would buy you a lot of "ceiling!"
Linda C

Can you post pictures? you get the most responses that way.

If you use foamcore, make sure that it is rated fireproof. The material used for picture framing is not.

Unless the drop cloths are treated with fire retardant, don't use them, either. Your best bet is to paint the pipes, wires and ceiling black, to make the ceiling clutter visually disappear.

Based on your post, the first thing you may want to buy is a sump pump with a battery backup.

I agree with previous posters about not using flammable, non fire-rated materials on the ceiling. Spraying everything is the easiest solution if you don't want to do a drop ceiling or drywall.

How is your HVAC in the space--is it air conditioned and do you have a dehumidifier? This will be important to maintain a mold-free and comfortable space.

My basement is semi-finished, and does get some water from time to time. (old house, stone foundation). I got a large piece of indoor/outdoor carpet at Lowes/HD and it works great. It doesn't completely cover the floor, but is about 1 foot from the walls on all sides. The carpet is a 12 foot width. This is right on the concrete. It is nice enough to sit on and exercise, and doesn't take on any dampness since it is basically plastic. It vacuums easily.

You could staple up screening or chicken wire -- probably would work best if used thin wood frame to hold it taut. You could include some string LED lighting on either side of the frame.

Carpet remnant or carpet squares for the floor. For some of the walls - perhaps elevator moving blankets.

Polly

I would propose the first order of business is to get a battery back up to your existing sump. You were lucky to have not lost power - but next time may not be.

You don't need a new sump pump rather an addition to your existing one. I purchased a Marine battery for about $140 & had the plumber install it to our existing set up. I will caution you that when it goes into battery mode it is not as powerful/effective as electric mode, but certainly prevents flooding.

Following that I would strongly advise against putting anything up on the ceiling that is not fire rated/retardant - When we finished our basement, we decided against moving steam pipes which would have been very costly - We installed a drop ceiling in left pipes exposed below, and painted them white - Provides needed heat & they sort of disappear -

The painting everything black is a good cheap solution -

A good cleaning of the existing flooring - you could do area rugs - and/or peel n stick tiles - I did this on the laundry/utility side of our basement - provides cohesive look for little $ Dry lock will help brighten a dungeon feeling -

I agree, painting everything black is the best option, but for the floors, I recommend doing an Epoxy floor treatment and then laying rugs. Its not expensive and very durable. Its slip resistant for the kids and easy to clean.

If you get the back up done for the sump pump, I would go ahead and throw some drywall up on the sides. It's not that expensive to do if you keep the space open and damage isn't likely if the back up battery is installed.

jejvtr - Can you say how long a battery sump pump would work in case of a power outage? We do not have one because it's my understanding that they would only pump a few hours. We are always home. If we had a power outage and we were out of town, the basement would flood anyway. Your thoughts?

Our sump pump back up battery last 3 days during the hurricane Irene power outage. It was still going on about 25% battery level when our power was restored. My husband was planning to recharge it somehow with our car if it died before the power came back on. My neighbors who didn't have a battery back up were flooded and overwhelmed.

The back up battery for the sump pump is on the list of things to do. Before this summer, we didn't even have a sump pump so it's a step in the right direction. We have taken in water in the past with other storms, so this was new to us to not get water during a storm.

DH is an engineer, we know about flame retardant materials, and have a dehumidifier. I don't want to just pray paint pipes/wires and ceiling black, this is a 115 year old house, there tends to be a lot of dust generated from there, would like it covered.
I really just wanted some clever ideas from you guys on how to spruce up the space. I have no pics, and frankly would be embarrassed to post any, it's that bad!

One of our sons has a circa 1880 home with a fieldstone foundation. It does weep when the ground gets waterlogged and they were informed that basements in those homes were never intended to be dry. So, they built some portable walls (framed drywall sections with wide feet) to hide the stone. They allow air circulation and any weeped water to flow into a drain. They've strung a fishnet-like fabric across the ceiling to hide the plumbing. It is not living space for them but more eye appealing - they have laundry, freezer etc. there.

Just a thought ...and I don't know if this is safe but would it be okay to use fire retardant fabric on the ceiling?

You could also use some tall bookcases to shield the laundry area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fire retardant fabric...

If you are hooked up to a municipal water supply (not a well) you can have a water-powered sump pump installed . We were also hit with water from Irene and we, too, were fortunate not to lose power - but we did spend a whole night shop vacuuming up water as it came in. We are going to have the water powered sump pump to back up our electric powered pump. As long as you don't lose the municipal water supply, the pump can run forever. Of course, you end up paying for extra water - but I'd rather do that and keep any water from intruding inside.

Helene

Polly, Candace Olsens famous for doing rec room, and basements. Maybe you can google loft ideas, since they are large spaces that become multi-use areas, too. Candace's first seasons she did many basements, turning them into multifunction rooms, ie kids play area/excersize area/office/tv family room. Ive seen everything from sports themed, to beach themed, to rustic outdoorsy decor/ and of course traditional and contemporary. She has sectioned areas with curtains, sliding doors, and used inexpensive wall posters and what looks like Ikea cabinets in beautiful ways. Lots of light and reflection helps in basements. Maybe these will inspire you once you get to the design/decor stages. She seems to go ahead and cram lots of furnishings into the spaces, more than I would think to use, but it gets so much varied use as a result, doesnt bother me. Ive been looking at doing a rec room multiuse remodel myself and will be taking many of her ideas myself.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basements done by Candace Olsen

Polly - we have similar basements. I rough painted our exposed floor joints and the underside of the foor above w/ a semi-gloss white. Since it's a naturally dusty/gloomy space - the bright white really helped make the rather low feeling from being so overwhelming. I would NOT advise painting yours a dark color. A white or light color would help reflect whatever limited light your space has and it also hides the cobwebs better. :) I also painted some of the pipes. We've painted our floor several times over the years using exterior porch paint. It holds up well.

You might think about checking w/ your insurance agent if you opt to do some sort of non-traditional ceiling coverage as you might run the risk of negating your policy if your material is not an approved one.

If the area is at all humid - I wouldn't want a lot of fabic down there that can't be easily washed. Not only will it absorb damp - it will also trap dust.

If you are going to paint with dry-lock the dust issue will be lessened. There is a picture of a poster who did the black paint on the ceiling thing. I haven't seen the finished room but it does disguise the unfinished look. This technique is very popular in restaurants. Once you get living down there the dust issue will be dealt with, with regular cleanings. I like the light paint idea for light better. I am not a fan of dark caves myself. I too would go with scraping and re-painting the floor. I did my laundry room in white and it not only holds up it is easier to sweep. I did mine in Kilz/water lock cement block paint.
I would not invest in much if you aren't up for the full job. Three houses tells me no one wants to hang out in what feels like a basement. How old are your kids? Maybe you would be better off to create an indoor play ground down there? Hang a few swings from the rafters, get some toys on wheels let the kids do more gross motor play down there. I also kept all play-dough play downstairs. Without finished walls, warmth, heat source and lots of light, the more natural the better, it just will never be a second family room, in my experience.

Agree with the idea to paint unfinished ceiling with lots of bright white paint! Putting up yards of fabric up there... sounds like the kind of cheap solution you see on those HGTV shows where the room looks worse in the "after" pictures.

Bamboo blinds come in large sizes and could be stapled to the ceiling instead of fabric. Then could continue the garden room idea with stenciled bamboo on wall or use tropical posters. Use patio furniture for furniture so if it gets wet it isn't ruined. Hang a couple of salvaged windows to make faux windows with shower curtains for draperies.

From the op's description, this is a dark, dank basement. A garden room theme might be a bit difficult to pull off.

Polly, sounds like you were describing my basement. It was dark and scary, used primarily as storage with a washer and dryer down there. Let me tell you that I was not really interested in doing laundry. We didn't have money to make it gorgeous, but it has worked for us.

It currently houses an old dresser with a tv, a couch and lounging chairs. It is also a playroom and exercise room. We painted the stone walls which were crummy with drylok paint in a light grayish blue shade (almost looks white with a soft hue to it). We do have one wall that is drywall, so that wall was painted a bright full yellow. Next we patched some of the concrete holes and painted it with concrete paint in a dark gray.

The exposed beams we left as is (think industrial loft in the basement) and put extra lights within the beams so that there are no hanging light fixtures. I bought a cheap Ikea rug to warm it up and it looks pretty good. I'll see if I can find some pics to upload.

Look for loft pics and see if any inspire you, then take your cues from there. Mind you we didn't spend lots of money but that's fine as now it is functional and bright down there.

Thank you all for your input.

Little Alexa I would love to see your photos. It sounds very much what we would like to do.

Something came up and our budget re-do may have to be put on hold anyway. I will let you all know what we end up doing.