Cecilia, to get a suggestion of more accurate layout, you would have to make a drawing and include dimensions of everything like corner to window trim, window trim to trim, wall to stove if you not planning moving it, etc. Same thing for the other wall.

Going off the picture you will get a bunch of images with layouts and you will get your hopes up and it might not work in your case.

When it comes to kitchens and bathrooms, working dimensions play a crucial role.

That said, I did a simple kitchen update a while back, without moving plumbing or anything and they decided to keep the peninsula. Here is a few samples just to five you an idea.

I'm not sure what happened to the picture of the Ref wall but basically it was the same thing just cabinets were replaced.

Also in your case, if you don't have anything inside the soffit like duct work, etc, than you can remove the soffit and go to 36" upper cabinet size and crown molding to the ceiling.

Good luck.

If you want seating close to the kitchen, I agree that you should keep the peninsula. I'd put the fridge where the higher counter is now in the desk area, to make a nice prep triangle, with a wider pantry to the right of the fridge, and standard-height base cabinets with uppers to the left. A MW in the upper cabinet to the left of the fridge would give you a nice area for organizing snacks.

Will you be plumbing the new fridge?