Gary Strong decided to start a bed and breakfast to reduce his commute from Post Falls.

Strong, 68, who teaches at Mullan Junior-Senior High School, had been driving 126 miles roundtrip every day from Post Falls for more than two years. It cost him $600 a month in gas, he said.

That led him to decide to look for a small house to stay at in Mullan during the week. Instead he found what may be the largest home in Mullan, and turned it into a bed-and-breakfast.

Strong's friend Kevin Frame, also of Post Falls, also wanted a small house in Mullan to store skis and other winter sports gear that could be closeby for weekend winter trips to Lookout Pass.

Strong looked at the house, located at 501 Hunter St., which had been foreclosed on and vacant for two years. After much research, came up with a plan. Together, the men and their wives, Peggy Strong and Danielle Frame, decided to go for it, in what Strong calls his "wild hair" idea.

"I did 2,000 pages of research, being a crusty old Wall Streeter," Strong said. He worked on Wall Street in New York City for 18 years and also spent 17 years in banking in St. Louis, Chicago and New York.

Kevin Frame installed granite countertops, while Strong and Danielle Frame designed the interior colors and themes.

The Mullan House opened Dec. 22, 2011. "It's doing well," Strong said. "Better than average for a startup bed and breakfast."

The Mullan House will be featured on an 8-house tour in northern Idaho on Sunday.

The tour runs from noon to 5 p.m. and is free, although donations of cash and canned goods are being accepted to distribute to local food banks.

What's neat about a bed and breakfasts is the guests, Strong said.

He has had guests from as far away as Hong Kong and Seoul, South Korea.

He recently hosted three couples from Italy, including two from Milan and one from Sicily. The neat thing about it is they didn't know each other until they met at the Mullan House.

Strong cooks breakfast each day he has guests, and has two cleaning ladies who work part-time. But he does the laundry himself, he said.

The 4,800-square-foot house that was built in 1985 has six bedrooms, each painted and with its own theme. These include: Deep Powder, Scarlet Woman, Big Burn, South Fork, Lumberjack and Silver Mine.

The Mullan House is charges $85 to $165 a night per room. The whole house can be rented for $645 per night.

The Mullan House had 47 percent occupancy last January and 52 percent in August, Strong said.

"The community has been very supportive. The people in the town have been very supportive." He expected 10 percent of his business to come from locals, but so far 20 percent has.

Locals send their visiting family members over for family and class reunions, weddings and funerals, for example.

The Mullan House is busiest in summer and winter, due to the hiking and tourism of the summer months, and winter sports activities in the winter.

"It's the only 5-star hospitality unit in the Silver Valley on TripAdvisor.com, Strong said.

He plans to partner with the Idaho Department of Tourism as part of a consortium with South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming that promotes bed and breakfasts in those states to tourists in Europe and Asia.

The house features a hot tub and there is a plan to add a sauna soon.

For more information, call 682-5678 or go online at www.mullanhouse.com.