Today's Before and After....do you like wine?

The economy may be keeping a lid on spending, but when it comes to flooring, it’s driving trends. That’s because today’s cost-conscious consumer is more demanding of value than ever.

“There’s definitely been a shift from spending to savings, “ says Chris Davis, the president and CEO of the World Floor Covering Association. “But that doesn’t mean consumers aren’t buying flooring: it means they’re looking for value and comfort. They might not be moving up right now, but they’re still into feathering the nest.”

Flooring manufacturers are getting the message. As a result, they’re keen on providing more bang for the buck — reining in high-end marketing and concentrating on products that are sensible, low-maintenance and easy on the budget.

That means bringing more innovation and variety to the perennial low-cost champs: resilient vinyl and carpeting.

Vinyl in demand
Choices for resilient vinyl flooring include a spectrum of styles, colors, textures and patterns. Add in vinyl’s easy-to-clean characteristics, comfort under foot and family-friendly stain-resistance, and the result is increasing popularity with value-hungry shoppers.

The demand continues for the “luxury vinyl” segment -- top-quality resilient flooring with lookalike qualities that are increasingly difficult to distinguish from stone, wood plank and ceramic tile. At $4 to $5 per square foot, luxury vinyl products sit at the middle of the flooring price range. Nevertheless, the ability of these products to mimic traditional high-end materials, such as tumbled marble and exotic hardwoods, puts extraordinary good looks at the feet of ordinary homeowners at a fraction of the cost.