Well, it looks to me like the kitchen was designed to put a table under the paddle fan.

THAT is a MASSIVE kitchen!! Wow. It would cost a small fortune to replace the cabinets. I think you need to get rid of the drop ceiling during your remodel. It's really adding to the dated look of the kitchen. I hope that a few designers/architects comment on this because it would be a really fun project for one of them. You have tons of potential here.

Hi sondeka, I agree with Heather -- see if your budget allows you to update the ceiling -- replace the fluorescent lighting with recessed LED's and maybe you can push the entire ceiling up to the same height as the current highest point of your fan -- then your kitchen will feel even more massive, open, and expansive than it already is now. :)

Like Fred mentioned I'd consider a table since the room is large. Here is an article on kitchen table-islands. I personally really like this look.
http://houzz.com/ideabooks/238800

I'm with Fred. Unless the photographs are really misleading, a family breakfast table in the middle of the room would be very fine.

Oh annoying. I've just seen how old this thread is. Ah well, I hope whatever you've done has made you happy.