ceiling for basement bathroom

I am trying to do a minor remodel on my small basement bathroom. It has a very low ceiling that is unfinished and has a couple of big pipes from the bathroom above it coming down through the ceiling and into the floor. It makes it difficult to make it look finished. I don't think I really have the room to box in the pipes. The bathroom has a vanity, toilet, and a plastic shower stall from god knows when. I would like to replace the shower stall but it would cost more than my budget will allow so I am just cleaning it up and replacing the fixture on it. My main concern is the ceiling. It is low so a drop ceiling would make it very low and I'm not sure the drop ceiling would work well with all the pipes anyway. I was thinking of just painting it all white but I'm not sure how that will look. I have considered drywall but then I lose access to the pipes and it seems like a pain. I was wondering if anyone else has run into similar problems and how they dealt with them. Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forums

I moved your question into a new thread, you'll get more visibility this way than tacking on to a six year old thread

 

Welcome to the forums! You probably have the worst of the worse scenarios, and I agree with the access thingy. BUT hopefully you have things tightened up overhead enough to where it will last 10 years. If it ever leaks, then you can worry about it. With that being said, and a grid ceiling being too low, I would opt for the sheetrock ceiling and leaving the vertical pipe exposed and painting it the same color of the walls. Boxing it may make it stand out even more and you will lose valuable space.
If the bathroom doesn't have one now, you may have to consider installing an exhaust fan as well.....just adding insult to injury, I know, but you need one.
Keep us posted and let us know if we can help further.