Funny you should mention that. We've been using a plugin called Timber (http://upstatement.com/timber/ http://upstatement.com/timber/) that provides exactly th

Funny you should mention that. We've been using a plugin called Timber (http://upstatement.com/timber/ http://upstatement.com/timber/) that provides exactly this functionality. They have a starter theme, but since its a plugin it can safely coexist with traditional WP template files, which is nice for refactoring and maintenance. Regardless, kudos on the project. It looks like a marked improvement over the normal state of affairs. The built-in templating is far from the worst thing about WP, but it is easy low-hanging fruit to modernize, and I for one am glad to see that effort pay off.