So my plan for now is:
1) Make navigation simpler and put in fixed position black colored header at the top along with a small logo like the nav bar at
http://colourfreak.com/, except when hovered, you will see an effect like this
http://line25.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/animated-menu/demo/index.html but with the white tabs instead of red ribbons
2) Make the background of the site predominantly white and/or light grey to give it a more inviting feel
3) Have content displayed along with images directly on top of background without putting it in boxes. Between two subtopics, the background color may change slightly or I may introduce a new set of images. Some small content will appear once user scrolls a certain point and that content will be in boxes.
I really want this design to be a lot more modern looking and better so I am completely redesigning the site. I have less than a week before the site is due (although all my content is done and written) so I want to be able to do this as quickly as possible.