Kain Bliss has spent nearly two decades building homes across Newcastle and Port Stephens.
Now, the director of Greenbuild Constructions has unveiled his latest high-end building project with the company in Nelson Bay.
The duplex, known as Alula, on Canomii Close has hit the market for sale via auction with Dane Queenan of PRD Port Stephens.
Set across three levels with water views, the luxury build is the result of a two-year project in conjunction with Sydney developer Nolan Keenan of Aveline Property.
Drawing inspiration from the architectural curves and textures of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Alula is designed to stand out.
"Like most of our projects, we wanted to make this one quite iconic for the area," Mr Bliss said.
"We wanted to make them somewhat landmark projects in the area that set a bit of a precedent and set the standard."
Built with solid concrete to maximise thermal mass and acoustic privacy between the two residences, features include a 12-metre glass skylight over the entryway, double-sided gas fireplaces, and a three-level lift.
Each duplex also has a custom-designed swimming pool with in-floor cleaning systems and curved details.
In addition to leading the build, Greenbuild Constructions also designed the home.
"We really wanted to emphasise the custom architectural design element," he said.
"The facade is a big feature - we wanted to make that the hero of the site and try to maintain that symmetry between both sides, but also make it unique with elevated garden beds.
"We could see the value in spending the money to incorporate these extra touch points in the design that were going to set it apart from other duplex projects."
There are four bedrooms, including the open-plan main bedroom which features a luxury ensuite, complete with a free-standing bath taking in views toward the headlands.
"We were going for that hotel vibe, so that when you're in the space, you feel like you're on holiday," he said.
The project did not come without challenges.
Built on a steep and difficult vacant block, Alula required massive footings and a retaining wall towering six metres at its highest point.
"Alula was a very challenging site, particularly in the early days coming up out of the ground," Mr Bliss said.
"The footings were massive and some of the biggest we have done. It's not the easiest site to navigate in terms of machinery and cranes."
The property will be auctioned on October 10 with a guide of $3.5 million.
"There has been nothing like it built in Port Stephens in terms of design," listing agent Dane Queenan said.
"It is state-of-the-art."
Mr Queenan said the property has generated high levels of inquiry since launching to market this month, including local and out-of-area interest.
"It would suit somebody wanting a private holiday home or a retiree looking for low maintenance, plus it has the lift over three levels," he said.
Kain Bliss's journey to becoming an award-winning builder began with a passion for technical drawing and design and technology at high school.
Growing up in Port Stephens, his parents Matt and Catherine - who ran a commercial plumbing business that worked on major regional projects including the John Hunter Hospital and Honeysuckle developments - initially encouraged him to pursue drafting.
He started as a draftsman and building designer before shifting into construction.
While working as a draftsman and part-time in his dad's plumbing business, he acted as a "big sponge, learning as much as I could and getting as much experience and exposure to all these different aspects of construction that I could."
He went on to complete a carpentry apprenticeship, earned his builder's licence, and took over Greenbuild Constructions, which he has run as sole director for the last 15 years after originally founding the company with his father and a business partner.
"It's very advantageous to have those skills, particularly during construction when you have fairly complex designs," he said.
"It was a bit of a natural progression and after a few years doing drafting, I thought 'I'm quite passionate about building', so I jumped into an apprenticeship.
"I progressed to getting my builder's licence and taking over Greenbuild. From that point on I started to branch out and take on bigger, luxury-style projects."
Under his leadership, Greenbuild Constructions has evolved into an end-to-end design and construction company.
In 2015, he also launched Bliss Kitchens and Joinery, allowing his team of roughly 25 staff to integrate custom joinery across their builds.
Greenbuild Constructions' portfolio includes multiple high-end projects across Port Stephens and the Hunter.
In 2018, Mr Bliss built Salt at Shoal Bay for his sister, Lauren.
Drawing inspiration from Byron Bay, the project proved that luxury short-term holiday rentals could thrive in the region.
"The project was largely inspired by what was happening up in Byron Bay and how they were doing these resort-style residential properties, renting them out as holiday rents and getting quite good incomes for those on a short-term basis," Mr Bliss said.
"I think that opened the market up to Sydney a lot more... instead of it being people just going to caravan parks and just going to the beach, we wanted to showcase to people that you can create homes that people want to come and enjoy for the space, not just for the area and the locality."
That success opened the door to other family and client-driven luxury projects including The Ridge Nelson Bay.
Built for a Sydney-based client, the project won major housing and design awards including the 2023 HIA-CSR Australian People's Choice Home of the Year and the 2023 HIA Australian Bathroom of the Year.
In 2022, the project earned the title of Master Builders Residential Builder of the Year.
Other completed projects include Talm Beach House, a luxury holiday house in Anna Bay operated by his brother, Ryley, and sister-in-law, Jenn.
He recently sold his own project, The Beach Abode, a waterfront duplex renovation in Nelson Bay he oversaw with wife, Mel.
More recently, Mr Bliss collaborated with his family to transform his childhood home in Bobs Farm into a luxury resort-style holiday rental, The Ambers Port Stephens.
Working alongside Three Bids Renovations in a marketing collaboration, Greenbuild Constructions handled the build while Lauren and Jenn looked after the interior design.
"It's a little bit nostalgic in the sense of going from having the family home and instead of losing that completely and having to move on and sell, we were able to refurbish it, repurpose it and share that with other people," Mr Bliss said.
"We are now able to block it out at certain times of the year and because we have a big extended family now - mum and dad have 15 grandkids between us all - it's a great place to all go to together."
