Neil Patrick Harris Lists Magical Harlem Brownstone With Hidden Room

Actors Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka have put their beautifully renovated Harlem brownstone on the market. As first reported by the New York Times, the 20-foot-wide, 8,000 square foot brownstone is listed for $7.3 million with Vickey Barron at Compass. Built in 1907 and purchased by the couple in 2013 for $3.6 million, the townhouse was formerly a bed and breakfast, so required about a year of renovations before the family — Neil, David, and twins Harper and Gideon — could move in.

The five-story home boasts 18 rooms in all, including four bedrooms, a library/den that could be converted to a bedroom, as well as four full bathrooms and two half baths. The interiors are bursting with charm, wit, and good taste, plus gorgeously restored woodwork.

The ground floor includes a lounge with gas fireplace and a vintage bar from a Connecticut hotel, now updated with all new plumbing and appliances. A special feature of the room is the chandelier, designed by Carolina Fontoura Alzaga, using bicycle chains instead of crystal ropes. Another notable feature are the taxidermy bears, taxidermy being a prominent decorative element found throughout the house. The music room includes a Yamaha player piano with wifi capability that plays whatever songs are streamed.

The next level includes a large, serene living room, dining, and a kitchen that can be closed off via pocket doors. Chef Burtka oversaw the kitchen renovations to his own standards; he was trained at Le Cordon Bleu and worked at Mario Batali’s Babbo restaurant. Off the kitchen is a small deck with built-in barbecue. The third floor contains a library/den and a master bedroom with a spa-like bath, the aforementioned balcony and outdoor hot tub. The top floor features three more bedrooms and two bathrooms, a laundry room and Harris’ office.

Harris is an aficionado of magic and has performed extensively as a magician — he’s a former board member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood — and his top-floor office is concealed behind a trick door that opens when the eye of a magician on a vintage poster is pressed. Inside are more magic posters and props, including from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Down on the garden level of the house is a large office used for Harris and Burtka’s production company, along with a red-walled home theater. (Besides the Harlem-themed images, of special note for vintage movie and poster lovers is a poster for the 1965 cult classic “Dr Terror’s House of Horrors,” a personal favorite.) The basement boasts a rec room, a wine cellar, a gym and lots of storage.

Harris and Burtka made the most of the nearly 2,000 square feet of outdoor space available, as well. In addition to a terraced rear garden, there’s a third-floor deck, an outdoor hot tub off the master bedroom — it’s shielded from the prying eyes of neighbors by high fencing, and a roof deck complete with a barbecue and wisteria-covered pergola.

How can the family bear to leave? Apparently they’re spending most of their time nowadays at their home in the Hamptons.  The couple purchased the 13.5-acre East Hampton, N.Y., estate, with a 5,250-square-foot, 4-bedroom house, for $5.5 million in 2017. Though we’re sure the family have erased all the bad juju with their magic tricks and wholesome, cute-kid antics, the property is known locally as the “Orgy House.” On the extensive grounds are a swimming pool and cabana, a rooftop hot tub, a tennis court with viewing pavilion, a lily pond, and a tea house.