In our basement Airbnb, our electrician recommended we do a drop ceiling. One reason for us to do a drop ceiling was because we have not renovated our kitchen the floor above yet and may need to run plumbing and wiring.

But I really dislike typical drop ceilings and was not thrilled with this idea. I found an alternative option on pinterest and we created beautiful tray ceiling instead of the typical drop ceiling. This is work my husband would typically do, but since we were about to have a baby, we hired this out locally.

drop ceiling alternative / airbnb / one delightful home / katie bowling

Here are the basics, but feel free to email or comment with questions

2x4s were attached using metal hangers perpendicular from the ceiling floor joists
1x4’s were then attached perpendicular to the 2x4’s to make the first part of the bottom trim
1x4’s were cut to attach directly to the 2x4’s to make the part of the finish trim parallel to the direction the 2x4’s were run
Drywall panels were then cut to fit in the openings so that the edges sat on the 1x4’s