I fell in love with Brazillian Teak (Cumaru), but the more research I did the more I thought it would be too unstable for my home's humidity fluctuations.

I looked at a lot of different products. There are many wonderful flooring companies out there, but I just wasn't finding something I liked. I didn't see anything that was similar enough to Cumaru.

I ended up going with an inexpensive engineered exotic product from BR-111 that I won't mind my dogs destroying. I plan to post photos this weekend when I'm finished installing it. Just have a couple feet left, but my back is killing me. LOL!

A wood type that I find very attactive (I just didn't want to deal with the onsite finishing process) is a rift and/or quarter cut white oak with a nice penetrating oil finish. That would be my dream floor.

It's such a personal decision.

You might consider hickory heartwood or mesquite as hard domestic alternatives with similar coloring. I personally don't know of either being available in prefinished.

Our first love was Brazilian Cherry. We have ended up doing "character grade" American Cherry. You know, the stuff that floor people throw out or disgrace with a second grade class. It has beautiful natural knots and gorgeous color variation. All the things installers avoid. We were also lucky enough to find an installer with similar appreciation for this natural beauty. He did so much as to set aside the "wild" stuff and placed it prominently in view where it could be appreciated. A personal opinion and it's not exactly "teak" but we love it.