I do realise that I am (obviously) completely new to the site, but since you are planning on updating I might as well add some things that were on my mind. At least this might help the planning go a tiny bit further in your head

(or disrupt it... you never know).
♦ I don't know about everyone else, but I find a lot of the font sizes to be way too small, especially in proportion to some of the other fonts. I don't think it is highly necessary for the quoted text to be so minuscule; most people would not type so many lines as to go over the default height of their post, so what reason is there for "saving space" like that? The menu bar at the top can also be made larger, it looks to be about the same size as the default font.
♦ When I click on a thread that has new replies since my last visit, it does not redirect me straight to the new post(s), is it supposed to do that? I sort of assumed that if you click on the "New" icon it would "snap" the screen to the first new post. It would be wonderful if I wouldn't have to scroll through the page to find the newest post (while reading all the small text on the dates). Even adding a little "star" or a bright little icon next to the date of the unread posts would help immensely.
♦ I'd also find it helpful if there were several different skins to choose from. For example, sometimes I find it more soothing to the eyes if there is a darker background (ie. dark blue) with white text. Even a darker main background with the current theme would frame the posts nicely, I think.
♦ More options to fill in on our profile pages, perhaps? Even something as simple as "Your Preferred Musical Instrument" or "Occupation" would be fantastic. Just so that we may learn something basic about the other members instead of having to figure it out by reading all the posts.
♦ One last thing - you can never have too smileys.

If I stay around a little bit longer, I'm sure I would become accustomed to the layout, but at the moment it has been quite awkward.