Well you can move module positions if you want in index.php of template. You can recognize places where module positions are loaded like this:
(example for user4)
<jdoc:include type="modules" name="user4" style="none" />
If you use menu item type "Front Page Blog layout" (that is changed when you enter menu item configuration) you can select number of columns for articles.
If you want to display article content in two columns see this link:
www.toolboxcreations.com/articles/design...olumn-content-layout