by ASHLEY MILLER

for the Sequim Gazette

If Larry Culp gets his way, Saw’ in Logs Lodge ZZZ will open as soon as this summer.

In fact, reservations already are being made.

Culp, owner of Old Mill Café, started collecting 100-year-old boards from local barns being torn down about three years ago. After hours of planning and hard work, a one-story motel is beginning to take shape, constructed almost completely from recycled wood.

The exterior of the building, on Carlsborg Road right next to the Old Mill Café, is nearly finished. All that’s left now is the interior finish work and getting all of the proper permits renewed, as they’ve expired since Culp first filed the paperwork.

Upon completion, Saw’ in Logs Lodge ZZZ will offer four fully furnished units — wheelchair accessible — with a queen bed, bathroom and shower, microwave, oven, refrigerator, flat screen television and wireless Internet in each.

Each room will have a specific theme: fishing, dairy, logging and nursery plants.

Cathedral ceilings and skylights give the 15-foot by 15-foot rooms the illusion of being even bigger than they are, according to Culp.

A recharge station for electric cars and a hitching post for horses are still to come outside, as well as a sign and paved parking lot.

The café, Culp said, is “holding its own.”

“We appreciate people coming to our little café, eating our food and saving our bacon,” he said.

Culp purchased the Old Mill Café in 2002 when it still was a tavern, originally built in 1922. He spent 2½ years renovating the space before opening it as a café.

“We went over every inch,” he said, crediting his wife, Val, for all of her hard work and dedication to the business. “It was in bad shape.”

The café is known for its unique country feel with rusty saw blades, painted blades, stumps, a hand-saw chandelier and other one-of-a-kind decorations.

The community can expect the same rustic, outdoorsy ambiance at the motel, Culp said.