Basement ceiling cover-up

I am debating what I am going to do to my basement, Just before I bought my house I practiced on the one I rented, the basement walls all were white so I painted them brick red and took a 1/2" brush and painted the mortar with light gray to give it a "brick" effect that really looked good especially at Christmas, and my coffee bar was a wooden workbench I got from a building supply that I covered with polyurethane until it shined, as for the ceiling I'm thinking of duplicating a bar I saw back in the 70's it was in the basement of an office building called the "Boiler Room" they painted the ceiling flat black and all of the pipes with florescent colors and lit the place up with a black light, I'm tempted to do that just to bring back memories. or I might polish all of the copper pipes valves and meter til it shines, while painting all of the iron pipe and PVC in Flat black, it's a simple theory "If you can't hide it make it a decoration". I am also leaning toward an office with the "Sam Spade" look with the antiques I have collected (roll top desk,1940's desk phone,file cabinet with real brass hardware, Grandfather clock with a Nixie tube display ("Steam punk" or "Dr. Who" style) that I built and a 1935 sears Silvertone shortwave radio I haven't fixed yet amongst other things.

anyway these ideas might not fit your taste but then again they might give you hints in the right direction, since you are renting avoid doing anything you can't undo.

Using an electric stapler, (stapling every inch) along rafter I first covered rafters with flame retardant plastic sheeting from Menards. Then over that, I stapled large canvas sheets (used for painting) that I got from Harbor Freight. It's been up 3 years and not one staple has loosened, all holding tight. It looks awesome and not difficult at all, I had fun doing it all by myself!

Kathy,

Sorry, I'm learning to navigate and just found your post!

Ask your landlord if you can paint it. We love ours. https://alifeunfolding.com/painting-the-basement-ceiling-dark-week-four-one-room-challenge/

Staple curtains up from the joists.

Board it in between rafters and decorate to taste or just Paint as is!

If you’re allowed, I too would paint it black. Make sure you get that agreement in writing with clear terms. Otherwise I might tack sheer fabric or other fabric up, maybe even in black, artfully with an intentional look.

they have rolls of reed roofing at Home Depot for $30 for fifty feet… I would use either that or burlap whichever is cheaper, staple, add trim if you want to make it look like ceiling panels… or I saw other posts about making removable panels, that seems to cost more, but they added wider pieces of trim on each rafter/joist and then added pieces between each rafter/joist, they just lay in place so if you need to get to anything above, you can… I’m working on a small studio apartment for my son and we’re using the reed roll and trim, I was going to use fabric, but I want something that won’t collect dust as much and that is more durable and since the reed rolls are made for outside, that seems more durable…

You can staple material to the beams if you just want to hide them. Check with the landlord and see if he is okay for you to paint the beams as well or stain them. It will help everything to blend in.

Just staple canvas drop cloths to the rafters (or any other fabric you like). Then you can take it down when you move.

I would go to the thrift store and get a sheet or a quilt and staple it to the rafters. Painters drop cloths would work well also because they are hemmed on all 4 sides