House of the Day Bed Stuy

Dahlander-Designed Bed Stuy Townhouse With Built-ins, Mantels Asks $3 Million

With lush period features and central air, the interior has room for a new owner to put their own design stamp on it.

Photo via Douglas Elliman

by Susan De Vries

02/16/2026 0

A wealth of woodwork fills the parlor level of this Bed Stuy townhouse, with built-ins, fretwork, a pier mirror, and mantels among the highlights. There have been some updates, like central air, but there is still room for a new owner to put their own design stamp on the interior while being surrounded by period features. In the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, 264 Decatur Street is set up with two duplex units.

In 1892 Magnus Dahlander, a prolific architect behind many of the ornate row houses in Bed Stuy, designed the house, along with its 24 neighbors, for builder Eli Bishop. Plans for 10 of the houses, including this one, were filed by Bishop in 1893. Dahlander’s designs include a mix of Renaissance and Romanesque details along the row. Some houses, like No. 264, have rounded bays while others have angled bays or oriels.

In 1896 Bishop advertised houses in the Decatur Street row as “high grade artistic” houses with “every novelty” and the option of an extension for dining. He also encouraged potential buyers to snap them up before the consolidation of the city.

Built as a single-family with that dining room extension, by the 1950s No. 264 was a multiple dwelling. A 1954 certificate of occupancy shows one apartment and five furnished rooms. By a 1964 certificate, it had been altered to have two apartments and two furnished rooms. HPD still lists the property with that arrangement.

The current duplex units each have have two bedrooms and two full baths. The lower duplex has the lush parlor floor details expected in a Dahlander-designed dwelling.

They start at the entry with wainscoting, a mirror, and a grand fretwork screen incorporating a built-in bench.

In the front parlor there’s the pier mirror, moldings, and another fretwork screen that leads to the rest of the triple-parlor layout. The rear parlor has a wall of original built-ins and a columned mantel with a mirror.

The rear extension, once the dining room, has been set up as a bedroom, while the stained glass skylight, wood floor, and mantel have been left in place. The room has access to a full bath with a tub.

On the garden level, the street-facing dining room has an ornate mantel with original tile surround and insert. Wainscoting wraps around the room and there is a glimpse of another built-in.

An original butler’s pantry was likely removed at some point; French doors now open from the dining room into the enlarged kitchen. The eat-in space has a wood floor, exposed rafters, white cabinets, and white appliances.

A door from the kitchen leads to the second bedroom with an en suite bath. This bedroom also has the only access to the rear yard; a new owner might want to switch up the layout.

While the upper duplex doesn’t have all the over-the-top detail, there are still multiple mantels, stained glass, and wood floors. The latter extend into a galley kitchen that likely once held an original pass-through.

While all the kitchens and baths look in good condition, a new owner might want to make some style tweaks.

The property last sold in 2015 for $1.6 million. The listing notes that the rooms in the extension are heated with hot water and the house has central air.

Charles Maione of Douglas Elliman has the listing and the townhouse is priced at $3 million. What do you think?

[Listing: 264 Decatur Street | Broker: Douglas Elliman] GMAP