We live in a 1919 Craftsman style bungalow, that has an unfinished basement which was added to the house at some point after initial construction. We would like to finish out the basement with either an office/multipurpose space and a bathroom (the house currently has only one) or an efficiency apartment. Our major issue with this project is one of access.

The basement is currently accessible by concrete stairs off the driveway and a full exterior door, and by a trapdoor style entry from the utility room inside. When open, the trapdoor creates a gaping hole that blocks the doorway from the kitchen to the utility (and back door). The utility space is rather small, and to prevent covering the trapdoor, the washer/dryer unit must be a stacking model. The space is not wide enough to accommodate a straight or spiral stair opening.

So, I thought I'd see if anyone has any ideas? We've thought about losing the inside access altogether, and have exterior access only, which would be fine for a basement apartment but is not a convenient way to add additional living space to the existing home. We've also discussed leaving the "trapdoor" access and making part of the basement a cellar - wine or otherwise - the kitchen is TINY so it would be nice to have the additional storage space. Anyway, no perfect solution has come to mind, so I'm asking - anyone with a creative idea? We obviously want to weigh what is cost-effective, what will be best for resale value, and what is the most livable solution.