When the Procter brothers and their wives verbalised an intent to build a bach together, the naysayers were ready with warnings aplenty.

But years of harmonious holidays at Pauanui have followed for Mark and Tonia Procter, Brent and Michelle Procter, and their daughters.

Michelle is the first to admit shared ownership of a bach wouldn’t work for everyone.

“The Procters all get on really well. It helps that we all have similar traits.

“We’re active, we love gin, wine and good food ... and we’re all bench-wipers, so the bach is always clean and tidy.”

One generation on, and their children (Ashley, Natalie and Caitlin) are close too.

Now adults, it’s helpful they’ve introduced partners to the family who all seem to gel too.

The girls were young when their parents first mooted the idea of investing in a bach together.

Teranui the Pauanui home of two families Procter brothers and their wives who built this bach together Homed story. Simon Devitt/ Stuff.

The background

Tonia says the families have always spent a lot of time together – initially their holidays were camping ones.

“Then we decided to start keeping an eye out for a piece of land, with the prospect of building a bach.”

Shortly after Tonia and Mark shifted from Auckland to Tauranga in 2004, Brent spotted a section he thought they should buy.

In Pauanui, it offered an easy middle meeting point for both families – two hours' commute each.

Section secured (they went 50/50 shares): Wonderful.

But their beautiful architecturally-designed bach was still many years away.

To get the feel of Pauanui, the Procters rented a house there for the first few summers.

Then came the self-contained unit and tent on their new site.

Next came a second cabin positioned parallel to the first with an adjoining deck and awning, plus spa pool.

Teranui the Pauanui home of two families Procter brothers and their wives who built this bach together Homed story. Simon Devitt/ Stuff.

“We played around with that configuration for quite a few years, actually. But it still involved people in tents when we had an overflow,” Tonia says.

“One wet summer too many changed things. We had outgrown the portacom, tent combination.”

The decision to build was made, with Tonia and Mark contacting a builder (Luke MacGibbon from 90 Degrees Construction) who recommended Mt Maunganui-based architectural designer Adam Taylor from ATA.

The Procters duly met with Taylor, and seven years on say it was the best decision they could have made.

The bach itself

While the Procters’ list of wants was quite large, at just over 300m² their site was very small.

“So, Adam had to be very clever, which of course he was,” Tonia says.

“Plus, given our two families often holiday together, he knew the bach had to comfortably house 10 people.

“He did a fantastic job. He gave us the best house that ticks all our boxes.”

The five bedroom-home has a footprint of 127m². Simon Devitt/ Stuff.

Taylor’s plans delivered a five-bedroom home and multi-living on what’s only a 127m² footprint, yet feels surprisingly spacious.

A pitched roof line adds a sense of height, as well as offering the opportunity to house a mezzanine floor.

The inclusion of a mezzanine with space saver stairs was outside of Building Code specifications, so he applied for an exemption. He got it.

As Tonia recounts, Taylor not only hit the plans out of the park, he nudged his clients out of their comfort zone with the staircase and mezzanine level, and with the floor to ceiling black “soccer net-type” surround that creates a “stunning and unique enclosure”.

The mezzanine is cantilevered over the main living area, includes a skylight, and functions brilliantly as a working space for when work must be done: All four bach owners have their own businesses.

Taylor describes the bach as an architectural mash-up of industrial and natural and those original Pauanui utility sheds.

Aesthetic pleasers include the burnished concrete floor, MDF negative detailed ceilings, exposed trusses, plywood walls, Coloursteel cladding, and that rope mesh screen.

The happy owners love the “super cool” result that’s a celebration of simple, clean lines, low maintenance (that was crucial), and a bach feel.

As regards the latter, there are decks off both sides; a wash station for dive gear and fish filleting (the Procters like to fish, dive and surf); and outdoor showers.

“We all shower outside,” Tonia says.

“We have private boys’ and a girls’ showers with big copper rainheads over kwila decking.

“Our bathroom area is long, with two basins and mirrors and is essentially the passageway you walk through to the two showers.

“Inside, we have two toilets opposite the basins.

Architectural designer Adam Taylor describes the bach as an architectural mash-up of industrial, natural, and original Pauanui utility sheds. Simon Devitt/ Stuff.

“This was integral to the design as we did not want to lose the relaxed, holiday vibe of the place. We also did not want to be scrubbing showers,” Tonia adds.

There is, however, one shower inside, in case a grandparent, for example, is visiting.

“All up, it is such a lovely environment to go to,” all concur.

On co-owning a bach

Tonia highly recommends co-ownership.

“There are so many upsides.

“Not only do you get to share holidays together, you share the cost and maintenance duties. It doesn’t have to be an arrangement between family members – it could be with friends.

“But, I think owning with just one other couple is the way to go and, in fact, have friends who are looking at doing this.”

Both Procter families are bench-wipers, which ensures inter-family congeniality. Simon Devitt/ Stuff. 

Michelle recalls many friends commenting that this sharing arrangement could be challenging.

“We, however, have found the complete opposite.

“The bach is big enough to have us all there together and those are special times,” she says.

The two couples have, however, created stipulations early in the piece to ensure their co-ownership model would run smoothly.

• They never rent it out – not even to friends (although they take friends). This mitigates any potential problems. They consider a bach a luxury item and an investment that needs to be looked after and cared for.
• They use a booking app. If it’s not booked, it’s yours.
• Everyone has the right to go on public holidays, in particular the Christmas and New Year break.
• When they are all in the bach together, they respect each other's space. And they are all committed to remaining bench-wipers.

- Monique Balvert-O'Connor/ Stuff