Last time I looked at it SMF 2.1 had a very nice theme. I'm surprised it hasn't been released as a theme for 2.0.x. I would definitely use it.
It'd require quite a bit of work to get every detail, but you could do something that had the same general look fairly easily. I'm sure the team wouldn't mind if someone wanted to make a 2.0.x version.
Funny about that theme. Some people love it. Some people think it's meh. Some people don't like it one bit. It's always like that with themes. Can't please everyone. Go mad trying. :D