Brian, here is something else to consider.

Select material that has some interesting character near the edges of the boards. When you cut your veneer and glue it on the adjacent face, you will have figure that "travels around the corner" so to speak and is visible on both faces. Sometimes this can be a simple as a wave in the grain pattern.

Personally I prefer the glue up over solid legs. The end result is usually more stable over time, and you can create a nicer look with the bookmatched grain around the corners.