I would like to build a table for our kitchen. It will be 44" round, with a three leaves to expand the major axis to 83". I have seen beautiful pictures of this item in cherry, but am concerned that over time with the leaves stored in a closet they will not age the same way and will not match the rest of the table. Are there other domestic or exotic woods that would be economical to build this table from, that would either mimic the color and grain of cherry themselves, or lend themselves to staining to achieve a similar color, without changing color over time as dramatically as cherry? Any leads you can provide to good wood choices, and finishing schemes if necessary, would be appreciated.

I thought about Jatoba, whose color I like but the grain is different than cherry, and I don't know anything about its long term color stability. I also considered maple with a cherry stain, but my efforts along those lines in the past have led to wood that is more red or orange than I was shooting for. I need something hard to stand up to the rigors of daily use. I am also open to using figured wood for the top, although I am wondering if the large surface might make that a bit overwhelming to the eye (say a quilted maple with a bit of cherry dye, perhaps).

The form I am shooting for is the expanding pedestal table from Graves's Dining Tables book (Taunton Press).

Thanks,
Matt