Low to Mid-Priced Wood Veneer With a High Priced Look

The recession may or may not be turning the corner, but one thing for sure is that folks are still looking to cost-cut wherever possible. However, they would also rather not sacrifice style when making necessary changes to the budget.

For this reason, we are highlighting some of our veneer that looks like it should be in the top of our price range, but is actually in the middle or toward the bottom of the price ranges. Here are four species you should pay attention to:

1. Iroko Veneer - This is a modern-looking wood with streaks of light and darker blond color, along with some very nice figure. It is often used in architectural panels, on high-end boats and furniture, and anywhere a nice blond figure might be needed. Thinking Iroko Veneer is $9 or $10 per square foot? Nope, it's just $5.99

2. Kewazinga Veneer - This is a nice dark reddish brown wood that you'd almost believe was a burl if you didn't know better. The pattern is shimmering, wavy, and concentrated grain. This wood looks like $12 a square foot but it is actually $5.49.

3. Ribbon Mahogany Veneer - This is a very nice looking multi-shade wood that can complement many differ decor styles. It has nice straight grain lines and a very interested texture. Ribbon Mahogany Veneer looks like it should cost about $8 per square foot. The real cost? $2.49/sq foot.

4. Tiama Veneer - This is similar to Ribbon Mahogany because it has straight multi-shade interesting grain lines. However, it has a bit more exotic flavor to it, and has thicker strands of shades that are more pronounced in tone. I would guess Tiama Veneer to be about $10 per square foot. Really it's just $4.49.