Period Design Series #2 of 6: Period Landscaping for Vintage Style Homes

PERIOD DESIGN SERIES: Between November 2024 and September 2025, Westport Historical Society is offering a series of six design themes related to historic and period homes: homes constructed during various eras between the 1850s through ???

This series was created as a collaborative effort between the Westport Historical Society and Paul Helmer, Principal since 1979 with Touch of Distinction in Kansas City, as a fundraiser to help restore the 1855 Harris-Kearney Historical House Museum.

Registration “tickets” for this series are tax-deductible donations, and participants my register for the full series, or for individual topics.

Second Saturdays (every other month) 10:00 AM – 12 NOON

THE TOPIC OF THIS EVENT

2024 Jan 11^th #2 of 6: Period Landscaping for Vintage Style Homes

•  What is the landscaping supposed to look like with my Tudor, my Shirtwaist, my Ranch style, my Victorian style home? Through the many periods of our American existence we have treated trees, types of shrubbery, plant material and their arrangement differently. What about the hardscape? What about the landscape shapes and material I use?

Continuing SERIES TOPICS

• 2025 Mar 8^th #3 of 6: Interior Color has Always Been an Evolving Study
• 2025 May 10^th #4 of 6: Our “Period” Kitchen and Bathrooms are a Disaster! What Should We Do?
• 2025 July 12^th #5 of 6:  Curb Appeal Answers the Question, Can My House Look Better?
• 2025 Sept 13^th #6 of 6 Period Interior Design Characteristics (Furniture, Presentation, Fabrics, etc.)

BIO

Paul Helmer, Architect Designer

Paul Helmer has worked on several significant projects including the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Museum, the Wornall Home, the Buchanan County Courthouse, and several ante-bellum homes.

Upon arrival in Kansas City Paul gained his position as Architect of the City’s Landmarks Commission where
he worked closely with Historic Kansas City Foundation. Here he wrote 16 articles in reference to historic
preservation/ renovation planning in the Foundation’s Gazette. Two of these articles have been kept in the
Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Later he became architect of the Housing and Community
Development Dept., City Planning Dept., the Neighborhood Preservation Dep. and became the founding
Manager of the Building Reuse Program. To his credit several properties have been saved and rehabilitated.

His lead position came about due to his letter written to the then Mayor Emanuel Cleaver, City Council
members and published in the Kansas City Star’s As I See It column of the paper. This precipitated an
interview and Helmer’s hire which brought about a new way to get information into the hands of developers
and interested parties. Sometimes mothballing was done to keep thieves and to stop the deterioration process
of an abandoned property. Most of these buildings are now renovated and contributing back to the
neighborhoods in which they stand, are again on the tax rolls and again are paying utilities and for the
infrastructure in sectors of the city once greatly uninhabited.

To this day his company TOUCH OF DISTINCTION color & design has been involved with over 5,500 projects.
He has won Federal, State and Local awards and has been given a Community Catalyst award from Historic
Kansas City for Revitalizing Neighborhoods of Kansas City.

Beyond the above, it was Mr. Helmer’s privilege to be a charter founder of the Friends of Sacred Structures
FOSS nearly 30 years ago. Today their efforts have helped to save noble houses of worship. Mr. Helmer is
now president of this organization. During his tenure 3 churches each year are toured to acquaint the public
with their interiors and to bring press to FOSS. Beyond these tours Helmer has brought about the addition to
the FOSS mission statement “and the adaptive reuse of closed church properties.”

With his success above, Paul especially thanks 2 people who mentored him; a teacher in grade school and a
teacher in high school both who recognized his abilities. To this day Paul attributes his great success to those
many clients who have used his abilities to give their properties that special TOUCH OF DISTINCTION.