Ikea has some great kitchens. Contrary to a lot of things they sell, their kitchens are VERY good quality. I think they were ranked 3rd in Consumer Reports only behind two very high end brands.
My girlfriend and I made an offer on a house and it will need a new kitchen right away. We went and looked at what Ikea had and I was impressed.
Best part is their kitchens are significantly cheaper than a lot of the crap made by Kraftmaid.
With that said, people are always surprised on what simple remodels actually cost. Shop around for contractors there are a lot of people out there looking for work and a lot of them have excellent references.
On the appliance side (if she is doing that) have her go to the Sears outlet store off of Morena. They have a lot of good stuff there at very good prices (50% off or more).
Can’t help you for granite but I do know there isn’t a lot of demand nowadays so you should be able to negotiate some good pricing.