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

Again, you could fill almost half of the fireplace area with window bench, game table and chairs like here ...? The walk-through function has essentially decreased the size of that area- and fp is to the side also - I think furniture or most of it can be in front of fp, and the window. A 'wall' might start with drywall to right of window - or measurement at which fp is [from window wall].

Mini sticks is indoor hockey with small sticks. I had wondered about the same floor throughout and just adding rugs. The stairs are off our great room upstairs has poor acoustics(quite loud) which I didn’t consider when planning and designing. I am hoping carpeted stairs will maybe help that a little and reduce the noise of running up the stairs. Maybe a runner would be best? Large room is the rec room. I see I uploaded the wrong pic of the plan- the mechanical room and the two small square storage rooms switched spots so the storage rooms are at the front. I don’t like toys all over either. One storage room is a canning room. The other one is storage/seed starting room. Maybe I should consider combining them and use one for toys? Under the stairs is also a storage area. I have 1300sft attached garage and breezeway with lots of storage so I can be flexible in the use of space downstairs. Kids are almost 10, 6 & 2.5. We also have a tv upstairs so can be away from them if it’s too loud. I’m sure my husbands dream is a big tv with surround but not likely at this point. A family hangout area and space for kids to play and hang out with their friends is the goal. I hear you on the shiplap. The idea came about when we were thinking of ideas to fill this gap between the wall and the stairs.

We are remodeling the basement in our 1940s colonial and are going to keep the existing steel support beam exposed, rather then encase it in drywall and lose valuable space. But I need to decide how to incorporate into a color palette- not sure if we should go neutral, pop of color? The color palette includes BM Balboa Mist- main room, BM Green Tint bathroom and laundry/ mud room. The main architectural feature in the room is the stone fireplace which has some beige, brown, blues and greens in it. Under the stairs we will have a small bar area, and I planned to put shiplap on the wall and have it be our accent color- maybe BM Knoxville Grey but might be too dark. The only other metal in the room will be the staircase- would it make sense to have the beam and staircase (at least top of rail?) be the same color? I’m at a loss for what to do about the beam. The flooring will be vinyl plank in a medium oak color. Thanks for any suggestions!