For Andi Dirkschneider Bliss, homebuilding was part of everyday life long before it was ever a career.

“At the end of the day, we’re building more than homes; we’re building a backdrop for people’s lives.”

Andi Dirkschneider Bliss

President I CEO I Dog Lover

Growing up, her days unfolded on job sites, playing in the dirt, surrounded by half-built homes where walls were still just outlines and roofs existed only in imagination. A second-generation homebuilder and third-generation in the skilled trades, it was always part of how she understood the world.

What Andi learned in that upbringing still drives her: a house isn’t just something you build, it’s a space you create for people to live and grow.

That philosophy shows up in every decision she makes, from the homes themselves to the people they’re built for and the community they serve.



Andi grew up here – in Charlotte and in homebuilding – and is now redefining the industry the Brookline way: woman-led, family owned, and fiercely committed to doing right by people every step of the way. 

Homes Built From the Inside Out

“I’m never only thinking about how a design looks. I’m seeing homes and floorplans with X-ray vision,” Andi says. It’s a way of thinking that started early. By four, she was already “redlining” plans with crayons, long before she had the language for it, but with an instinct that never really left.

As an example, Andi shares a story about a Brookline townhome that was designed before she took the reins, where getting into the home from the garage meant crossing an uncovered walkway. “If I’ve done my hair or I’m carrying groceries, I thought to myself “I’m not walking outside or through the rain!’” she says.

The design worked in theory but fell short in real life. One day, during a walkthrough, someone noticed what Andi did, too. “The woman said to me, ‘I can tell a man designed this house. A woman would never do this!’” she adds, laughing.

So she fixed it: the design was changed so that the walkway would be covered. “It’s a simple thing, but these are the kind of changes that make a house so much better to live in,” she adds.

For Andi, a home needs to do more than look beautiful – it needs to function well and feel good. “Some builders are just concerned with what looks interesting on paper, but it’s important to understand how it will actually support someone’s every day,” Andi notes.

This approach shows up in the subtle things that just make sense but are often overlooked in homebuilding. It’s the placement of a dishwasher close to where you’re cooking. Or space for a real headboard that sits perfectly between the bedroom windows. It’s building entryways that are wide enough for a console table so a home feels warm the moment you walk in. They’re decisions that don’t call attention to themselves, but are felt over time in how a home becomes easier, more natural, and more instinctive as you move through your day-to-day.

Beyond the Walls and Into the Community

What happens inside a home extends beyond the front door. It shapes the streets, the neighborhoods, and the communities around it. “We care deeply about the communities we’re in. There’s such a sense of pride when I’m driving around Gastonia, Belmont, Cramerton, Charlotte, Concord, Huntersville, etc, and think, ‘Brookline built that,’” Andi says.

For Andi, Charlotte has always been home, and her life is rooted here, just like the rest of her team. Brookline homes are built by people who live in the communities themselves, and that level of closeness and care for the city changes how you build.

It means paying attention to the architecture, the history, and the character that’s already there. In Aberfoyle Village, that meant looking to the original mill buildings as inspiration, so what Brookline built fit naturally within the neighborhood fabric and kept that sense of place. “Honoring where we came from has always mattered to me,” Andi says.

One of Andi’s favorite things about the Charlotte Metro is the Carolina Thread Trail, which connects neighborhoods, parks, and natural spaces across the region and runs through many Brookline communities. “It’s a beautiful reflection of how people actually live here,” she says. “Nature, community, everything woven together.”

Building a Future for Women in Homebuilding

Being part of this industry from such a young age continues to shape how Andi sees her role in it today, and what comes next.

She also grew up seeing what was possible. Her mom worked as a superintendent in the 90s, long before it was common to see women in those roles. It was something Andi witnessed early, and in some ways, still experiences herself.

“I can walk onto a job site and still be the only woman there, but that is happening less and less frequently,” she says.

That reality has followed her throughout her career, influencing how she chooses to show up beyond the work itself. Andi is heavily involved with Professional Women in Building, a network focused on supporting and advancing women in homebuilding, and stays close to that work in a way that feels consistent with how she leads every day. It’s about opening the door a little wider, making the industry feel more accessible, and creating space for more people, and especially women, to find their place.

At Brookline, that mindset is part of the culture. The work is about what’s being built today, what comes next, who’s part of it, and how it continues to evolve over time.

Homes for Every Chapter, Rooted in Where We Live

Andi believes that what people remember isn’t just the home itself; it’s how it supported them  through the moments that matter, and who was there along the way. “The biggest difference between us and a national homebuilder is that we care. Every single homeowner we work with matters to us and has a relationship with us,” Andi says.

That care doesn’t end at move-in. It carries forward as homeowners return years later, stepping into new chapters with a team they already know and trust. Because life changes, and a home needs to support you through every season.

When you’ve grown up in the community you build homes for, you grow alongside the people who live in them. As Andi puts it, “At the end of the day, we’re building more than homes; we’re building a backdrop for people’s lives.”