One more ideabook showing a great basement remodel:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/below-my-houzz-an-inviting-basement-with-industrial-edge-stsetivw-vs~5266676

1. How hard/expensive is it to get a thin layer of paint off of brick?
2. For this room particularly Im not sure if stripping the paint would work for this room particularly. The brick is very worn due to age and Im not sure i like the color of the original anyhow. Ive included pictures of the white wall and the original brick from the hall way outside the room.

And the white wall in the room..

Before you do anything, it is really really important you do something about the asbestos pipe. You really should have it changed out for safety reasons. Can you get a quote to change it...

As for the brick wall, if you remove the paint from the white wall, your room will feel more enclosed. If you like industrial chic/ go for grunge chic as well which allows for a liberal use of exposed piping peeling paint etc.

I think the brick looks great if you want to go with an industrial vibe. Here is an article on how to remove it: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/brick-houses.shtml

However, I see now that it's a large wall, so it might be more trouble than it's worth. Take a look at the ideabooks I posted earlier. They have some cool ideas for working with exposed utilities.

Here is an article on asbestos mitigation: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Safety-Education/Safety-Guides/Home-Appliances-Maintenance-and-Structure/Asbestos-In-The-Home/

It doesn't necessarily have to be removed; it can be wrapped, which will probably be cheaper. But it should be done by a pro in any case.

OK...A couple of things....first, the asbestos insulation on your steam lines(?) is extremely friable...that means able to become airborne...DO NOT DISTURB IT! The pipes can be encapsulated with the proper techniques...but this is one of the types of asbestos we need to be careful with. Call an abatement company right away. Moving the pipes should not be an issue once the asbestos is removed. If it is encapsulated..no moving the pipes! The weird sort of snaking pipe on the wall is a cast iron main drain line. The extra bit poking out at the wall with the square nipple like thing on it is a clean out...the place where the Roto Rooter guy runs his snake to clear the line to the street....it needs to stay accessible!

Take simple flat interior doors and hinge together,paint and make large wall screen to stand in front of pipes.

Simply move when access needed.

For ceiling, suspend art board(foam center) from ceiling with fishing twine. Either in a grid, or stagger heights to block pipes.

I've seen fabric used to make a cool ceiling. You can drape panels. The cheapest option is to get muslin and dye it.

You'd have to have pendant lights (I think you need more overhead light anyway). I once saw an army surplus parachute dyed and put on a ceiling. It was really cool. If the basement is musty (it looks musty) get a dehumidifier.

Look at my basement it's even worse

First thank you all for the replies, i've recieved a ton of creative ideas. I was aware and definently need to look into the asbestos solutions here soon. Fortunantly the one in the room im working on is undisturbed and pretty safe but once I get things cleaned up i'll be dealing with it.
jhperree, I love the idea for ceiling tiles! Thats so creative. Now for the interior door panels, would you build a frame for the bottom to keep it standing upright or how were you thinking about standing it upright? Sigrid, fabric has always been the easy option to consider but with the height of the ceiling, it might make me feel more enclosed (also the reason why all the walls are currently white.

Also, I agree that overhead lighting would make a world of difference. As you can see in some of the pics, there the one exposed fluorescent tube. Have been looking to replace that for something that looks better so don't be afraid to throw any ideas out there.

Either suspend them with hooks long enough to pass pipes or just make like japanese folding screen that stands on floor. Hinge them together in middle of door and alternate side hinge is dominate on...accordion style.

I would like to chime in about the virtues of the industrial aesthetic. My own basement has maybe 5 times this amount of pipes (huge house, 1890s, full of radiators and old plumbing). Our kids want to make the pipes different colors -- to make them into a feature. We are considering this (e.g. get pipe insulation, the foam kind that slips on, and paint it first, then slip onto pipes). Also could turn the painted brick/stone wall into a feature: We live in an area of Chicago that has really great graffiti art -- the people who do graffiti near us have turned it into a serious art form. The kids are also trying to persuade us to hire these guys to spray a wall of the basement. The wall ish is brick and limestone but not exposed -- has crumbling white paint on it which the kids claim would look actively good with the graffiti. I am intrigued; my husband is skeptical.

You can also abate asbestos with this beautiful shiny plastic material that comes in big flat sheets -- I don't know what it is called or how to get it, bu t my kids' school did this and it looks great and is reassuringly clean looking and cleanable). You could consider a dropped tin ceiling -- not very expensive, quick to install (ish) and can retain access to the pipes without destroying a drywall ceiling.