I vote for D but, those hidious black & yellow squares are terrible on the eyes.
Best Chess board border

A, C and D are all ok. C is probably the most common, and the optimal playing choice (w/ A not that far behind). D can look very pretty if done right, but a prettier looking board could be considered too much of a distraction in any serious game... so the more neutral C would be better in that scenario.
FWIW, I have all these variations and play with all of them, so these are all viable choices.

As I thought, type C is by far more popular (I did some polls elsewhere as well). And B is considered the worst. Too bad one of the only boards I have to fit my big pieces is a B type!
I have made my own board in type A, and I've considered revising it to this new type. What do you think?

I think the frame is too busy like this. You need more weight on the frame, and by making the frame 2 colors you lose that. But that's just my 2 cents - if you dig it, why not?

First choice B, D a close second though I'd have D without that black narrow edge line. (If I say or explain that right..)

Well Frank, I went ahead and put a black border around my board. And I think it looks quite good. But I did take your advice and I vastly reduced the striping.
If you would be so kind, please weigh in your choice. Right click "view image" to view in higher resolution.