Pretty is pretty. I agree with you that the Hardwood plywood like Appleply and so forth is more pretty nice looking rather than actually any real amount stronger. If you are going to paint rathere than clearcoat, I would stay with the regular exterior or marine grades of plywood. I have been doing work with solid woods recently and they work well if you use the proper techniques for preventing warpage. I've seen excellent work with cheap plywood that looks great and on hte other hand seen poor work with very expensive plywood. Have fun with what you are used to using.