So, you want to design a content centric CMS website. Here's a few tips for you.
1) As small a page size as practical for fast download times.
2) Minimal design elements - the focus is on content, communication and participation. Whitespace is good.
http://www.ecoalign.com/
http://www.topnotchthemes.com/theme/1007
3) Flexible design using repeating elements
a) flexible for us to modify layout using CMS admin tools
b) flexible for various browsers -- media driven CSS for smallscreen viewing
c) Graphical elements that resize from small to wide, short to tall (lines, corners, etc)
d) Text for all variable items
4) Focus on What's Important. People-centric story-driven site? People should be front and center. Content? Content front and center.
5) Use familiar navigation structures to enable rapid discoverability of content
