Adding extra features to posts

I have a WordPress site that requires each post to be relatively small (roughly 800px x 300px). On the left will be the type (usually only a few lines) and on the right will be a featured image that changes with each post. At the very bottom of each post needs to be a small boxed tab that says “see more.” Each post will be its own box that contains these things independently.

Because of this, I think I need some way of altering the post layout beyond the basic options. I’ve used CSS and some custom divs to arrange the type and the title the way I want, but I’m stumped on the image thing, or the bottom flushed-right tab. How should I go about implementing these things into the theme to they are mainstays that are easily interacted with? Will this require extensive PHP knowledge? A plugin of some kind?

Just wondering. It seems like a simple idea, but I’m wondering if the answer is simple.