[John Sabato]

Another suggestion I can make for wood grip source material is hardwood flooring. Places like Lumber Liquidators often run sales of short lots that are too small to do a whole house, and in some cases even too small to do an 8x10 room. I installed hardwood flooring in the bedrooms of our home about 10 years ago. I managed to find lots small enough to do each bedroom in a different hardwood. I used Canadian Maple, Engineered Bamboo, Amber Oak, and American Walnut for the rooms. That is what we call the rooms now... by their flooring type.

You can often find this type of flooring in varying widths and lengths... It is about 3/4 inch thick and often with great grain showing. Just plane it to your required thickness. I think we paid about a dollar or less per square foot because the lots we bought were discontinued. If you want a sample of my remnants to see what it is like, let me know. I will send some to you for the postage.