3,4-Diphenyl-2a,5a,6,7,8,8a,8b-heptahydro-furo[4,3,2-de]chromen-2-one (1) was prepared as part of a project aimed at the synthesis of polycyclic natural-product-like scaffolds. X-ray analysis of crystals grown from ethanol revealed an incommensurately modulated structure. Data include main and satellite reflections up to second order. The modulation vector was refined using the NADA program. The modulated character of the structure of the organic compound C(22)H(20)O(3) is interpreted in terms of the intermolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds and close-contact approximation.