Style File: Max Rollitt
It is rare that a year goes by without an interior by Max Rollitt gracing the pages of House & Garden. An antique dealer for many years (he has run his own antique shop since 1993), Max added the titles ‘furniture maker’ and ‘interior designer’ to his resume in 2006, when began taking on decorating projects; today, he leads a team of 12 and has received multiple accolades for his work, including his inclusion on our list of the Top 100 Designers.
All of his interiors have an effortlessness, they are far from clinical or overdone; when a room is completed, it feels like it has slowly evolved over many years. Max's sensitivity to the unique interests of the homeowners he works with and his intuitive use of antiques ensure his projects always have character.
Max has a deep-rooted love of objects – specifically their patina and proportion – and this shows time and time again in his work. The pieces of furniture and objects he chooses bear their history with pride, they are not over-polished or brutally resurfaced. In his hands homes which have been unsympathetically modernised are handed back their history, their architecture is unmasked and embraced.
When asked of the goals for his designs, says his aim is to make “joyful homes that are comfortable, elegant and interesting” – and this he definitely does. Indeed, with each project, Max thoughtfully curates classical rooms underpinned by the enduring and often underrated pleasure of comfort.
See inside Max's renovated barn filled with exquisite antiques
Discover our ‘Style File’ of Max Rollitt's interiors
Tom Mannion1/21In the drawing room of a 17th-century farmhouse gracefully restored by Max, drapes made from Claremont’s ‘Faille Hamilton’ silk contrast with the dark red velvet upholstery of Max’s ‘Regency’ sofa. A painting by Paul Lemasson hangs on the left. Two armchairs are covered in ‘Musiciens Chinois’ printed cotton from Le Manach.
Tom Mannion2/21Max designed the base units in the farmhouse's kitchen, which have a specialist teal paint finish, as well as the glazed wall cupboard. They stand out against the panelling, which was painted in Little Greene’s ‘Stone-Dark-Warm’.
Tom Mannion3/21The dining room is an incredible representation of Max's adeptness with antique decoration. Walls in ‘India Yellow’ paint by Farrow & Ball create a warm atmosphere. The George III mahogany glazed bookcase, with its gothic arched doors, ebony inlay and swan-necked pediment, dates from c1770. A Regency convex mirror hangs above a dove-grey stone chimneypiece from the same period, which Max sourced from Jamb. The dining chairs are upholstered in ‘Sackville Damask’ silk from Claremont.
Simon Upton4/21A heavily carved door opens into the entrance hall of an extraordinary Massachusetts house sympathetically decorated by Max.
Simon Upton5/21The drawing room is “probably the most traditional” in its decoration, as Max notes. The oak panelling and knotwork ceiling, along with the heavily carved Renaissance fire surround, lend it a sense of grandeur. An antique Knole sofa takes centre stage, accompanied by a pair of late-18th century Spanish armchairs to the right. An Italian Renaissance cassone sits behind the sofa, while a matched pair of Kangxi vases stand in the alcoves over the fireplace.
7/21The Hampshire Farmhouse
The morning room of Max's Hampshire farmhouse is filled with his eclectic collection of antiques. The comfortable armchair is Max's own reproduction of a Howard & Sons original 'Deep Seated Bridgwater'.
8/21Max's farmhouse kitchen is decorated with simple wooden furniture, such as this Windsor bench he designed.
Chris Horwood10/21In 2021, Maxxc.completed a major redesign of his Hampshire showroom, and it's a place every antiques lover will want to visit. The dusty Tiffany blue drawing room, pictured here, is a perfect representation of Max's excellent taste and skill in combining antiques.
Chris Horwood11/21The hall at Max's showroom in Hampshire is richly decorated whilst still maintaining a simple, approachable air.
13/21The asymmetrical sitting room in what was once an overly-modernised London flat which Max sympathetically restored has sixteenth-century style panelling and a sofa covered in 'V W Hopper' from Opuzen.
Simon Brown14/21In the cloakroom, a pair of French, nineteenth-century stained glass windows was designed to hold a series of photographic slides.
Mel Yates16/21To fulfil the owners' brief for their Hampshire vicarage of 'English shabby chic', interior designer Max Rollitt built on the existing history of the house. The walls in the morning room are covered in Adam Calkin's 'Chateau' wallpaper from Lewis & Wood.
Mel Yates17/21Max designed the two cane bergère chairs in the drawing room.
Simon Upton19/21The entrance hall in this 1830s house in west London to which Max added a ‘patina of age’ and Soanean elements has its original dentilled cornicing, while additional period details were added, including the eighteenth-century pedestal and lead urn from Jamb (just out of frame).
Simon Upton20/21Many of the objects in the drawing room are by Max, including the collection of porcelain vases.
