Thanks for the info folks... we're buying a townhouse, so the options and upgrades were more limited compared to building a single family.
And the verdict is... we decided to hold off on the hardwood for now. One of the reasons was that the hardwood that the builder was providing was a lower grade maple; we preferred a more uniform look that you get with 'select or better' (hey, I learned something new today
). We had 4 different color combos to choose from, and at the end of the day, we figured that the color scheme we picked would still look good without the hardwood. Plus, we also saved about $4K off of our mortgage, which is always a good thing
We also tinkered with the idea of getting some tile instead, but it didn't really work with our floorplan (our lino is a 'faux tile' anyways, and it seemed like a waste of money). Plus, I heard it's a pain to try and remove it should we change our minds later. Maybe in a year or two we'll think about upgrading our floors, but for now, I'm sure we'll be very happy with what we've got.
As for the potlights, the upgraded electrical/lighting package was an extra $1000... needless to say, we passed
One last question for the CP experts... I've seen some places sell/advertise 'hardwood laminate'... is that just laminate that is made to look like hardwood, or actual hardwood that has been pre-treated or coated like laminate (like a pre-finished hardwood)?