Ask your contractor if the water heater and furnace (?) can be moved into the lower right corner of the utility room. If so, I'd have him frame them in to a utility closet, leaving the rest of the room open to create a guest bedroom. That said, if this is going to be an oft-used guest space for sleeping, you're going to need another form of egress to meet code. Have him add another window in the bedroom area and make sure the window is large enough for someone to get out of in the event of a fire.

If you use the room as a bedroom you need to have an ingress window. Worth on having additional code compliant bedroom is just that when you list the house you have an additional bedroom, and the worth in that is a fair market value for a house with so many bedrooms. So is this a basement with a separate basement entrance (if it's a walkout) and if you have a bathroom with a small kitchen it can be listed as a mother-daughter house, or in-law suite, etc. which can bring the value up. Good luck

Hi Mat, You’re right! Working around a staircase in the middle of a basement is tricky! So is the 22 foot long shuffleboard! We would love for you to look through our photos to get some ideas of how we have incorporated these things in our past designs. We have blueprints, 3D images and completed project photos on our Houzz page and our websites. We can also help you complete your design in 3D if you really want to feel out the space before you start building. I hope when your project is finished it is everything you want it to be. Finishing a basement is fabulous investment for your home and family. You are off to a great start!!! DYB Houzz

We knew this is what we wanted to use it for, but now its decorating time. We want to keep it flexible for other owners in the future. The "dry bar" is designed for wine in the future (center has plug & dimensions for wine fridge). The closet to the right is under the stairs & will be future wine cellar. For entertaining, it is possible, but mostly for "just us" - family of 2 with some fur babies. I wanted to open the stair well, but hubby said "absolutely not"... we did all the construction work!