I can see how it would look bathroomy just because I've only seen that look in bathrooms. It would make washing the floors really easy though. Can you play around with photoshop a bit and get a feel for that tile baseboard look with cabionets nearby?

We used a wide baseboard but it matches our wood floor and the window trims. I can totally see your point about using a 3rd material. I think it's going to come down to your gut feeling about it.

I think it depends on your tile and the style of your kitchen. You mention both terracotta and porcelain. If it's a terracotta colored porcelain, I think it could end up looking very bathroomy. If it's a real terracotta tile and your style is kind of a hacienda feel, it could be made to look very un-bathroomy. Take a look at the pics at the link below. They have several very hacienda-style rooms with terracotta tile baseboards that look great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tile of Luxury

What baseboard is in the rest of your house? I would think you'd match it with what you have elsewhere...

If not, I like option #2 as that has a more "finished" and "connecting" look, IMHO!

Have you considered matching the wall color?

Here is a photo showing the peach wall (photo is not color corrected, so the wall looks more pink than peach), porcelain floor tile and surface bullnose trim, and door jamb color and grain. We don't have any other baseboards in the rooms adjacent to the kitchen/sunroom to match to. Also, our backsplash is made of mini-bricks of the same terracotta-colored tile, so in the kitchen area, we have a wide swath of "brick" wall:

{{!gwi}}

ajpl: Yes, gut feeling, but right now our guts feel ripped out. We thought all decisions had been made.

holligator: I'll look at that link as soon as I post this. Our tiles are porcelain, but highly variegated in color and texture to look quite rustic.

buehl: We hadn't thought of painting wood baseboard the wall color; let's call that option #4. It would be a quick, easy, fade-away solution!

So, folks, now that you've seen a photo, what do you think?

I don't love the tile baseboard now that I see it but I wouldn't be all freaked out that it looked like a bathroom either. I know all about that gut ripped out feeling LOL. How long do you have to make the decision? Can you sleep on it?

if you're going to do a tile baseboard, make sure you get a cove molding piece to transition your floor to wall tile. makes super-easy clean up, as you don't get that build-up in the corner.

ajpl--Thanks for commenting again. Our tile contractor was here a few minutes ago, so I called my husband to come home from work (5 minutes away) so we could all confer. The contractor patted us both on the back and said, "No sweat. Wait until the whole floor is installed and then make your decision." So we've got through the weekend, anyway, to decide. If we decide it's going to be the surface bullnose tiles, then we'll have to find out how long it would take to get them.

edlakin--The surface bullnose is the ONLY trim piece that comes with this Italian tile; no matching cove molding is available in that line. So it will just be a grout joint transition. Again, this trim only occurs away from the cooking core of the kitchen, so any buildup is more likely to be dust bunnies and dog fur, rather than food-related crud.

Hi Maydl, I was just making this exact decision. I am working with a local designer (Pacific Grove, CA) who is terrific. Her take was to do wood to match the window trim. She said that tile (even in a rustic-terra-cotta-looking porcelain) looked too much like a bathroom. I will be doing alder base, which is what the windows and doors are. But, I looked at A LOT of pictures in magazines, online, etc. to help make my decision, and to tell you the truth, they ALL looked good. I liked no base, I liked the tile base (only in rustic), I liked the stained wood base, I also liked the base painted to match the walls. So, I truly think that there is no real "wrong" decision here.

I think I'd probably do both. Wood base in the entry (a little more formal) and tile base in the sunroom.

What is wrong with using the wood trim pieces you were given. You said they were not rounded enough, but the bullnose tile trim looks like it is just as plain. I think trimming out with matching wood to your casings and cabinets would be like adding the finishing frame on a picture.

Hi, astridh! Nice to hear from you again. Did you find your vanity marble? I'm pretty sure we're going with the surface bullnose tile. It's DH's favorite choice, and I like it, too. They've covered a lot of the floor with tile now, so we can see the pattern and the effect, and honestly, there's no way you could call this 30-foot-long space "bathroomy". It's more of an indoor/outdoor room with the sunroom on the deck end, which is why we think the tile base will work fine over there.

Ci_lantro: Thanks so much for responding. It would be difficult, I think, to mix the two bases because the entry wall is continuous with the sunroom walls--no good place to stop one base and start the other.

lyfia--When we showed our builder why we didn't like the wood trim pieces we were given--too thick and too tall--he explained that he could "rip" them down to whatever size and thickness we wanted. It came down to the fact that DH just likes the tile base better. And as I said in my earlier post, I like having just two materials at floor level, rather than three, especially since the cherry wood toe-kick base is a different grain and far more intense in color than the stained pine window and door jambs.

OK, everyone, you've convinced us. DH and I have decided to go with a shapely, substantial, 4"-5" high pine baseboard molding stained to match our window and door trim. That way the wood grain will be the same, and it will all tie together ... we hope. AND we won't have to wait weeks for trim tiles to arrive on the slow boat from Italy.

Thanks, again, for all your opinions.