 It was said when the award was given that “except for Elsie de Wolfe, no one has influenced American home decoration more than Mr. Pahlmann.”

Pahlmann was chairman of the board of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Decorators (later the American Society of Interior Designers) and the first president of its Resource Council.He was later elected as a Fellow.The department of architecture at Texas A&M University awards the William C. Pahlmann scholarship annually to graduate students in their final year.