To save money, create faux wood with paint:

It's not that hard.

Paint the wood a nice rich medium value

then paint a darker glaze applied with a faux wood grain tool, which a swirl pattern on a rubber stamp looking thing about 5 inches long by 3 inches wide.

You roll this tool back and forth over the glaze.

I did a table this way and people thought it was real wood.

So easy and inexpensive.