Would you be into an industrial look by painting all the plumbing and ducts and floor joists

Check out www.tinceilings.com or www.decorativeceilingtiles.net or www.betterthantin.com for a multitude of ceiling tile options.

No matter how nice the tile is that you're using if you just spread it across a large room it always looks a little tacky. If you some creatively placed bulkheads, to outline the various living areas and room borders, you can create a very dramatic and unique finish that will be sure to impress everybody. The benefit of this is you develop a kind of Crawford ceiling or tray ceiling effect which is rare to see in the basement. You can also amplify these areas with some nice crown moldings to add to the effect. This way you avoid the ho-hum effect of a large drop ceiling, and still retain the benefit of access to the electrical and plumbing systems that you might want to have for the future.

If you really want to give it a professional touch, and save yourself a little bit of a hassle on finishing touches, make sure to lay out your bulkheads and borders to create spaces that fit exact full-tile sizes.