A young environmentalist Midwestern interior designer of schools must leave home when her web of reality forces her to risk seeking employment with upper-class homeowners as an interior home decor designer in faraway New York City only to find herself in an environment populated by people whose mismatched goals form the basis for poetic and situational irony that for the viewer provides a steady source of entertainment.

SYNOPSIS:

It’s been a year since Alyssa May graduated from Iowa State University Department of Interior Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts that qualified her to do interior design work in small and large residential units. Currently, she lives at home and works for a rather large interior design agency. Primarily she and the team of designers are involved in school design. But Alyssa May loves the thought of doing interior design in private homes. And Alyssa May loves large! And her budding romance with Felix!

Also, Alyssa May is a little tired of Iowa’s humid continental climate and would like to leave the city of Ames, Iowa, population sixty thousand, for a big city. Chicago. She longs for a bigger city. with a more climate-aware mentality, and having done some research, she would like to move to New York State, the third greenest state in the nation. Or better yet, New York City, where she could also use her knowledge of space planning, interior materials and systems, lighting design, and environmental and human behavior. Her wish is to design functional, comfortable, and beautiful spaces in homes . . . luxurious ones.

After some research, Alyssa decides she would like to live in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Achieving this goal will require both courage and initiative. Alyssa May is up for it? And is Felix?

As it turns out, Spanish English bilingual Felix has lived in NYC and will move in with some relatives there while Alyssa will have to find an apartment mate to share rental costs. But find one, she does, Gianna Leonetti, a young woman of Italian descent with a North New Jersey accent, a grandiose style who prefers all things new, cares not the least about the environment, and is determined to meet men of means, and if all goes well, to marry one.

Luckily, Alyssa’s new workaday friend who speaks with an Irish lilt, Piper Murphy, evidences a kind of lightheartedness that proves to be a lifesaver as Gianna moves from disdain to appreciation of Felix . . . especially his cooking skills . . . and Alyssa and Gianna come to an understanding on their apartment décor . . . and as unemployed Felix worms his way not only in Alyssa’s heart but also into becoming the live-in chef for those in the apartment on his determined path to marry Alyssa.

BASED ON SHORT: Almost by Design - 2024: Best Drama Screenplay New York Film Awards; Best Short Screen Play - Los Angeles Film Awards; Festigious Los Angeles Monthly Film Competition; Semi Finalist - Palm Springs International Screenplay Contest; Brooklyn International Short Awards; Berlin Shorts Award; Rome International Short Festival; Paris International Short Festival; Selected, Vegas Shorts, New York Short Awards. 2023: Semi Finalist: Brooklyn International Short Awards; Berlin Shorts Award; Palm Springs International Screenplay Contest; New York International Women Festival

ALMOST BY DESIGN - 26 PAGE COMEDY PILOT