apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Do you rent or own?
Is that half-paneling covering a fireplace opening?

It really depends on what the ceiling looks like under those drop panels. Can you remove it all and paint the underside of celing and pipes all white?

If not you could at least paint the drop ceiling structure white (instead of brown) and replace the yellowed plexi that covers the flourscent with white frost or maybe use some botanical themed stickers to update.

If you're stuck with the drop ceiling...I'm currently replacing those white ceiling tiles in my kitchen with molded plastic tiles from Empire West. Easy and affordable option if you can't expose the original ceiling. Styles and colors to choose from. Definitely an upgrade over the white office-looking things, and they have matching transulent tiles for the lights. I'll send in pics here when I'm done...

maybe this might provide some inspiration:

http://fourbedstwobaths.blogspot.com/search/label/basement

I have this same problem!
A wide open basement area that I'd love to make a living room (huge doors and windows) but hideous ceiling tiles, holes in the ceilings and horrid panels!

I'm painting my ceiling panels wide, added pergo floors, and have yet to make a real decision on tiles. Ive started covering them in fabric, but don't really like the look so much anymore.

Those drop ceilings are there for a reason -to hide the "guts" of the house which might include some very long nails.

Huge improvement just by painting that paneling either white or wall color and replacing those awful light panels with new, non-discolored ones.
I agree about painting the ceiling grid structure, too, and if the tiles are dirty or otherwise gross, replace them.

But I would also remove a few and do some poking around to get an idea of what you'd be in for to remove the drop ceiling entirely. If it's a basement, chances are it would be a lot of work to tidy up the mechanical/electrical stuff that's under there, but you never know. I had the same ceiling in my old kitchen and all I had to do to get rid of it was take it down, patch a few screw holes and get a new light fixture.

If you can't remove the panels, you could paint them, paper them, upholster (ooh, that could be snug), or even cover them with cork!

Even if there's a mess of pipes and wiring above, you should get rid of the ceiling - it makes the room feel cramped, and there's no way anything it hides could be as ugly.

Also, it's "drop down" for menus and "drop" for ceilings. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your contractors.

Burn it down, get the Insurance money, Start Over!

Thanks for the great suggestions all!

I'm renting this converted basement in Brooklyn, but I've been given permission to improve as much as I want without having any major demo work done.

So, it seems the best idea is to paint and/or replace the tiles.

Any recommendation on what paint works best on this type of ceiling tile?

I'll post my progress over the next month.

thanks for posting this question. i'm dealing w/ the same issue. i'm turning the 1st floor/basement into my studio apt. i think this has inspired me (& the owners of the house) to take down the drop ceiling & paint the stuff behind it. :) i wonder if you can rent those powered paint sprayers.