I recently bought a new home and I'm looking for a way to "spruce up" (no pun intended) the wall where my TV sits.  We've got a wall that's approximately 16' long and about 12' tall.  I purchased a black sofa table that I sit the TV on, has it has a back to it and hides all the cables nicely.  What I'd like to do is buy some nice wood and have a carpenter buddy of mine make a back drop to add something to the wall.

Right now I'm trying to narrow down the type of wood.  Now, I'm from western NoDak and enjoy the rustic look of barnwood and reclaimed wood, but my roommate (ie, girlfriend) doesn't like it that much.  She's much more urban, and prefers a more "finished" look.  I added some pics down below, one of some examples of backdrops made of wood, and the other is my TV and the wall I'm making this for.

What types of wood should I look at?  Cost isn't the limiting factor, but I don't want to go crazy.  For discussion purposes, I'll set an arbitrary budget of $750 for the wood.  Size-wise, I'd like to go maybe 8' wide and 6' tall (I've measured it out with my tape measure) so that it really stands out.  One thought I had, is because I'm going 8' wide, I could go about buying 1x2, 1x4, 1x6, and 1x8 boards and stager them.

So again, what types of wood should I be looking at?  I'm not sure if I want to stain, poly, or just leave natural.  I'm thinking that decision could affect which wood to lean towards.  I know I don't want pine - this isn't my HS FFA project I'm doing.  I want it to look classy.

Hickory - right now my first pick.  I like how warm hickory can be, and the natural grains in it.  Would you stay natural, stain, or poly it??

Walnut - I love how much two boards of walnut can vary in color!  Only thing about it is, I haven't really priced it out either??

Maple - The kitchen cabinets will be within 15 feet of this piece, and they are white.  Not sure how "pretty" maple can be, or if it needs varnish or stain or something to really pop out.

Cherry - I'm a little worried it could come out to red - the room has a ton of natural light, but we also have blinds that can make it feel dark.  Our cabinets in the kitchen (next to it) are white.  That said, the couch and black sofa table could go with a red tint.  I did purchase a wine rack/sofa table that was painted a cherry red but it ended up looking too dark for my taste, not how it looked on the sales floor, so I took it back.  Also with cherry, are the natural grains too fine to really pop out without a stain or varnish?

European Walnut  -  very nice natural color, and seems to take to varnish and polyurethane well.  No idea on cost, as I haven't even looked online or anywhere else for it, let alone cost.

Cedar - I like the smell, but could it be too pungent for too long?  Not sure I've seen in "fine furniture" done in cedar, but it could be an option?

Anywho, if they are any woodworkers out there, please let me know what you think.  Thanks for any replies.