where to start with basement remodel

[Anonymous]

We are looking to remodel our basement in a couple of years. It's a 1940s split colonial and the basement was cheaply done by a prior owner about 25 years ago as a one-bedroom rental. So it has a bizarrely large but ugly bathroom, a bedroom big enough to fit a full-size bed, a one-burner cooking area with sink, and a random open space that is weirdly shaped and not usable other than for the kids to jump around in. It all feels claustrophobic and inefficient and we'd like to open it up, get rid of the sink/burner and add cabinetry/shelving/closets, but keep the bathroom. Not sure that we need to keep the one-bedroom set-up, but the stairs come down in the middle of the space rather than off to the side, and so divide the basement into two spaces. Ideally we'd have a couple of couches and a nice TV down there but the division into two spaces makes it weird currently.

All without breaking the bank of course but we're prepared to spend at least $50k if needed, though hoping less since there should not be major structural work other than removing the sink/burner thing. (No interest in moving the stairs.)

We have a long-term great contractor to do the actual work, but he isn't great on design. Who should we be looking at for design purposes? The home builder architects seem too big; the interior designers seem more like furniture and painting design versus design of a space? Is there some middle category of people who have the vision to design useful small-ish spaces like this?