Hi: We were in the same boat about a month ago. We have a low basement which did not allow for drywalling. We actually had the walls finished & then, after looking on various forums decided to spray paint the ceiling flat dark brown. Would have gone in a lighter shade, but we had so many wires & uneven ducts, etc. thought it would blend better in a darker colour. Wish I had before pictures, because the improvement is astounding with the finished walls & ceramic. May not look so, but we are very happy with the result & would 100% suggest going for the painted bare ceiling. Here is a link that might be useful: laundry rm with exposed painted ceiling

I ordered the French Doors through a lumber yard. Had to have them delivered "knocked down" because pre-hung units would not make it down the stairs. Home Centers were unable to have them delivered knocked down. They came primed and we painted them. The glass has been frosted with a 3M window film available from Home Centers. I obtained the theatrical film from a specilty lighting place in, I believe, Skokie IL. I'll try to find the paperwork this week for you. It's been several years so no idea if they are still in business. It was an investment but I can tell you that blue rope lights delivered turquois color and DW was not going for that! Buy the glass block and construct the glass block wall first! VOICE OF EXPERIENCE We did it last and it was a "*itch" getting the last row in place. We purchased sufficient block to define their placement and height in order to size the bar but thought installing them last was the correct sequence - smarter now for your benefit. Installing the block was relatively simple - if you've ever mixed any mortar, have a level, rubber mallot and a straight line you're set. It took us parts of 2 days to built it. Purchased from Menards and they and the manufactures website gave us the need-to-know information. The corner blocks are the expensive part but made the look we wanted. We use the bar often. Not just for entertaining, but for project work space and for food prep of things when lots of counter space is needed. Rule here is we do not carry things to the basement and just set them on the bar! We would truly miss not having a second kitchen. Best of luck with yours. I'll see if I have info on the film and post here if I do.

We had an electrician do all the lights outlets etc (to ensure it was to code and prevent myself from getting injured and/or burning down the house). They're 4 in. dimmable LEDs. There's 11 total for the 32x12 foot room (10 for the room itself and one for the bottom of the stairs (where the yellow wall is). They're evenly spaced apart along the 32 foot length, so rough math says 6 ft or so apart. The blue wall to gray wall is 12 feet, I'm not home but looks like maybe three feet from long walls and 6 feet between the 2 rows). We're happy with how it turned out. Originally the ceiling was going to be exposed as this thread started but firecode changed that. That back wall with the door/windows was going to be all brick, making a loft look. Loosing the ceiling meant loosing the loft look, so I didn't want to spend the money doing the brick wall.

We did our basement ceiling that way for part of our basement remodel. i think it looks great, although I do prefer the drywall ceiling in the media room. We used Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint in low lustre, spraying and rolling. We used a dark gray with a lot of brown (Gauntlet Gray). I think anything darker might actually show the imperfections. This is not special paint, just a good quality paint I've used throughout the house. Just be sure to prep well. Clean, sand, then clean again. If the environment in your basement was that different from your main floor where you need special product, I don't think you'd be finishing it for use.