It took him only a day to find and buy a four-bedroom Georgian-style Colonial in Fox Chapel. But it took a year and a half to remodel it.

"I saw the house and I bought it," says this former CEO, who asked that his name not be published.

Successful, divorced and setting out to tackle a major renovation, he wasted no time lining up Sarah Drake, architect and interior designer. She brought in Lynn Smith, re-designer and artist, and contractor Will Carpenter.

"It was a team effort," says Ms. Drake.

"Yes, they painted and decorated and I paid," quips the man of the house.

The idea was to create a more modern interior without being obvious. The center hall powder room has walls painted to look like silver leaf and a wind-chime light fixture. The alabaster sink has a natural walnut base.

Family heirlooms and modern art decorate the hall's Venetian plaster walls.

"Those walls took three weeks or more to do," the homeowner remembers.

As a tribute to his father, who worked for RCA, he has the the "Little Nipper" dog sitting on a drum painted by Ms. Smith near the front door. The door, which is a Dutch door, has a faux mahogany finish also done by Ms. Smith.

The home's color scheme came from a set of French porcelain plates purchased at auction in Oakmont.

"He likes blues and yellows, and the plates became the palette for the entire house," explains Ms. Drake.

The living room is pale yellow, and the study is a storm blue with cork floors. A fan of Abraham Lincoln, the owner commissioned two paintings by Pittsburgh artist Thommy Conroy, one based upon an old photograph of his second inauguration. Two other favorite artists are the man's mother and brother; their work is throughout the house.

"I love being in this room," says the resident.

With a comfortable sofa, fireplace and handsome desk for taking care of business, it's easy to see why.

Another favorite is his well-stocked wine cellar. Ms. Smith painted a mural of oak wine barrels in a hall outside the room.

"It took about four days to do and is an image of an underground wine storage in Italy," says Ms. Smith.

Her talents were also employed on the floor of the second-floor landing, with design advice from Ms. Drake.

"We needed the landing to be more formal, so Lynn painted an oval Greek key border with a compass center," echoing a feature of the garden.

The homeowner says the house reflects his style well.

"Will [the contractor] and Sarah are big on client input. When you undertake a project like this, you will run into unplanned situations. But we held weekly meetings, so you were always on top of it," he says.

He recommends that anyone thinking of remodeling use the same blueprint:

"What I liked about working with Will is that he always had a man on site overseeing everything, and he wasn't afraid to take someone off the job who wasn't living up to expectations," adds the former corporate leader.

The homeowner lived above the old garage for the duration of the project, which included a slate roof and a four-car garage addition with a master suite above it. Behind his bed, Ms. Drake designed an extra-large walk-in closet shaped like a box.

"He is very neat, and we needed a space for everything," she explains.

The closet also shows Ms. Smith's handiwork.

"I did a takeoff on Venetian plaster with a metallic finish. It's like a floating closet," she says.

Adjacent is the spa bathroom with a stone wall, burled maple shelving and a soaking tub tucked into an alcove.

"The tub hasn't been used yet," notes the owner.

The convenience of the large walk-in shower is just one of many time-saving elements in the house.

"I really like the clothes chute for the dry cleaner pickup and laundry," he adds.

The master suite is reached by a back staircase from the kitchen, but a sliding barn door ensures privacy.

"The only thing we did in the kitchen was paint the hardwood floor black to disguise the diagonal pattern, which didn't fit the more updated look of the house," says Ms. Drake.

"Ultimately our job was to bring his vision to life," she says.

The result is a very comfortable, handsome home for one, which easily fills with friends and family.

Doug Oster writes a blog, "Growing With Doug," exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.