A pioneer in the world of multiuse communities, Pam Sessions, designer and president of award-winning Atlanta homebuilder, Hedgewood Homes, builds new homes and creates neighborhoods made for modern everyday living. Since starting the company in 1985, Sessions, alongside her business partner and husband Don Donnelly, have put the Hedgewood stamp on more than 4,000 homes in the Atlanta area, creating fashionable-meets-family-friendly homes. With a focus on walkability, amenities and community, you might think that the homes in these neighborhoods would feel cookie cutter. And you would be wrong.

An example of a bespoke home in the signature Manchester neighborhood, designed and developed by Hedgewood Homes.

A hallmark of Hedgewood Homes is crafting distinct homes in new neighborhoods, meaning that each home they create is unique while existing harmoniously as part of a created neighborhood. The level of customization that their clients receive is part of what sets Hedgewood Homes apart from your average tract home builder.

“We fill that niche in between volume builder and a very small custom builder. We are offering a lot of design and a lot of individuality, but our clients don’t have to go through the entire custom process or expense,” Sessions said.

Sessions works directly with all Hedgewood Home buyers to ensure that the home they create is a unique reflection of their lifestyle and taste.

“It’s teamwork, absolutely, but I think that most of our clients come with a very strong interest in design or they wouldn’t be finding us,” Sessions said. “They have a great eye and instincts — they just don’t necessarily have the confidence, because they don’t do it every day.”

For these design savvy buyers, working with Sessions and Hedgewood means getting the benefit of their in-house capabilities, from the architecture all the way through to construction and design. Since it’s a one-stop shop, that means that their clients have access to their curated selection of materials.

Designer Pam Sessions features Polycor marble in her studio's curated material selection.

“Even though now everyone has access to everything, they don’t have time to access everything,” Sessions said. “Our clients like that we’ve edited down the choices for them, and yet they still put them together so differently that no two houses look anything alike.”

One of those curated selections that Hedgewood Homes is proud to offer their clients is Polycor GEORGIA MARBLE - PEARL GREY™.

“We really wanted to be able to offer it to our clients as an included feature, so we worked very closely with Polycor and established a great relationship with our fabricator and Polycor so that we could bring this stone to all of our customers,” Sessions said. “It’s nice, because we see so much carrara marble, so it’s refreshing to see something different. And it’s also a little bit harder of a stone than the carraras, so that’s a plus as well.”

Brass pulls and fixtures throughout are all the decoration this kitchen needs.

Hedgewood Homes has a large display island of Pearl Grey™ in their studio so their clients can see the stone firsthand.

“It’s really important that clients be able to see that movement on a larger scale. That’s also, of course, why people fall in love with it,” Sessions said. “That’s a reason, I think, that the Pearl Grey™ has been so popular for us. It’s just eye-catching and it’s different and they get to see it in a large execution, so they aren’t surprised.”

Georgia Marble - Pearl Grey™ has a broad range in character. Some blocks feature subtle veining, while some like this island have dramatic dark grey veins.

And it’s not just clients who love this American marble, it’s a personal favorite of Sessions; not only is it in the studio, she used it in her own kitchen, too. See her home kitchen featuring showstopping lacquered cabinetry and Pearl Grey™ marble here.

Clients who purchased a home on Bismark Road, one of 104 homes in the Manchester intown community created by Hedgewood, were immediately won over by the boldness and movement of the stone and used it in their kitchen. But there was a surprising reason they loved it after it was installed.

The showstopper island is anchored in deep, dark grey, perfectly matched to the marble veining.

“In this house on Bismark, the clients really got a kick out of the fact that people would come in and say, ‘Well I bet this was a big upgrade!’ And they could say ‘No, it was included!’,” said Sessions. “That made them very proud too, because people were recognizing the distinct difference and how gorgeous it was.”

While the rest of the kitchen is white, the marble tops an island painted with Sherwin Williams’ Iron Ore. The fixtures, including the faucet, are champagne bronze.

Each Hedgewood Home is unique with design details you won't find in a McMansion.

“With the backdrop being pretty much all white, the countertop is allowed to stand out and be the star in that space,” said Sessions. “There may be a few stars in a space, but you can’t just put a wowie zowie on everything. It’s usually one or two things that grab you and everything else is still beautiful, but in a supporting role to that star. And when you use the Pearl Grey™ it’s going to be the star just about every time.”

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Other than its obvious visual appeal, Sessions’ Atlanta-based clientele love that Pearl Grey™ comes from a quarry in Tate, Georgia. Her clients appreciate the environmental aspect of being able to resource products so close to home, and on top of that is some well-deserved local pride.

Polycor quarries and processes its own stone, and so maintains a clear and controlled supply chain, ensuring quality work, fair labor practices and, because the stone is locally sourced, a lower carbon footprint.

“Our clients love that the stone is local. No one comes in requesting that, but they light up when you tell them,” Sessions said. “There is some pride about having a product as important as this that comes from your state. We brag about anything we source in the country, but when it’s in your own state, it’s something extra special.”

Sessions on a visit to the Tate, Georgia quarry uses her own stature to show the scale of the Pearl Grey™ veining. Read about her visit here.

And something extra special is what all of Pam Sessions’ clients are looking for and what Hedgewood Homes aims to deliver with every new build.

“It’s our job to make sure that we’re capturing our clients’ personality. We’re listening carefully and helping guide them towards what it is that they want to create,” Sessions said. “Every home looks so different, even if we’re using something as strong a signature as the Pearl Grey™ marble, it still looks completely different in every home. It’s exciting because even though they have a general idea of what it’s going to look like, every slab is a little different, because it’s coming from the earth. So that’s kind of a nice little bonus. No one has ever been disappointed – every piece we’ve gotten has been a pleaser.”

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