It depends on the site that I'm working on. I have a number of "generic" looking sites that are setup to look just that way, and then I have designs that were customized for certain things. Our old site was a creation that took 2 years in the making, and lasted for 3 years after that with almost no changes. The new design on our hosting page will likely last the same 2-3 years (depending on technology).

The main thing depends on your target market however. Some markets want the flash and glitter, others just want the meat. USUALLY, depending how good of a graphic developer you are, or hire, you can take a free template and mold it into something you want.