Slab wood. The kind the Patrick family gives me for free from their saw mill to take up to the cottage.
What are those really wide pieces of wood that are like a light-ish brown? Those are awesome...like when people do their floors in them.
My bedroom walls and ceiling are covered in rough saw-mill lumber. I put polyurethane on the walls to preserve the natural color. You can kinda see it in of my pictures. Anyways I like different kinds. I love finding antique tiger oak furniture.
I don't know a god damn think about wood...but I know a guy that makes bed frames and futons out of those old fences from the 1700-1800 time. They look awesome
boxes cut from 4'x8' sheets of birch or oak ply. wood conditioner + polyurethane gives that nice natural color. That method makes the grain "glow", has a really nice effect in person, kinda like a chrome rim.
No building material has as much character as old wood. Its something you just can't duplicate... a 200 year old piece of wood has seen so much in its day...