Max Rollitt’s bio begins: “born into the world of antiques.” His mother had her own shop in Winchester, England, and, after studying cabinetmaking, furniture design, and restoration, Max opened his own shop across the street and later took over the family business.
“Do you have another chair like this?” interior designers always asked. And so Max put his skills to work and launched Max Rollitt Bespoke, a collection of traditionally-made, antiques-inspired furnishings. Another customer gave Max free reign to design the rooms in an old vicarage, and that launched his career as, in his words, an “intuitive dealer-decorator.” Max’s triple-barreled business is now set on his own Hampshire farm in a converted barn that houses his emporium and workshops. He and his wife, Jane, live next door: see The Joy of Discovery.
A few years ago, one of Max’s longtime regulars commissioned him to help restore a nearby Regency estate, and recently called the team back to transform the property’s gardener’s cottage as a place for her guests to stay. Join us for a tour of this full renovation/restoration designed to look “freer in spirit” than the main house, and as Max says, “untouched,” as if the elements all landed in place over time.
Photography by Chris Horwood, courtesy of Max Rollitt (@max_rollitt)
Above: The cottage was built in the late 19th century out of yellow brick and has its original slate roof and ornamental trim. It’s surrounded by a wild flower meadow, a theme Max continued indoors.
He describes the house pre-renovation as “designed to look pretty but with little consideration for the occupant. Before we started, it was very tired and in desperate need of the love.”
Above: The sitting room is painted in Cinnamon from Edward Bulmer: see “Natural, Not Plastic” Paint. Many of the furnishings came from the clients’ own antiques collections and include pieces purchased from Max over the years. The sofa is recovered in Tissus d’Hélène’s wool-linen Harri Stripe and the curtain fabric was sourced from Claremont. The Hare, Partridges, and Pheasant collage is by contemporary artist Mark Hearld.
Above: The galley kitchen is housed in a new extension designed and built by classical design and joinery specialists Artichoke, the team that Max also partnered with on the main house. The checked floor is repurposed vintage encaustic tile that works well with a vintage Moroccan area rug.
Above: The bespoke cabinets are painted Farrow & Ball’s Sudbury Yellow—”a bold choice,” Artichoke notes, “but perfect where you need natural light to flood a small space.” The under-sink curtain and blinds are made of Décors Barbares’s Moujik linen. The dishwasher is “disguised as a cabinet” to the left.
Above: “We borrowed room from the adjacent cloakroom to create a niche deep enough to hide a pantry cupboard and fridge/freezer,” writes Artichoke. Max thinks his client bought her patterned cutting boards at a shop on the steps leading to the Prague Castle.
Above: The kitchen table and other furniture are from Max Rollitt Antiques, including George III oval stools recovered in a flame-stitch upholstery fabric, Florentine Bargello from Watts 1874. The curtains are made from the client’s own antique William Morris fabric.
Above: Artichoke also designed and built the downstairs bath. The sink is The Water Monopoly’s Rockwell Basin. The cork floor, a departure from the period look throughout, was chosen by the owner for warmth. The painted lampshades are by Atelier Elizabeth Rose.
Above: A glimpse into one of the two bedrooms. The landing is painted Brick from Edward Bulmer, “a very clever color that goes from brown to red depending on the light,”says Max. The trim is Edward Bulmer’s Whiting.
Above: The main bedroom is a honey-suckle patterned bower courtesy of Zuber’s Mauny wallpaper and a vintage kantha quilt from Max’s shop. He made the pitch pine bed for his client back in 1999. The bedside tables are faux bamboo collapsible antiques also from Max’s shop. 
Above: A bathroom with a window seat, a Water Monopoly clawfoot tub, and its original wide-board wooden floor (restored, refinished, and sealed with a waxed oil). The trellis wallpaper, another Zuber Mauny pattern, echoes the trellis on the façade (see below). The throw rug is an antique Tibetan blanket.
Above: An antique chest on chest stands unobtrusively in a niche. The striped lampshades are by Alvaro Picardo.
Above: Artichoke fitted its kitchen and bathroom extension gracefully next to the entryway and finished it in stucco with replicated roof detailing. The mushroom-like forms are antique staddle stones made to support grain stores and hay barns.
More private quarters for guests:
