Interior designer Max Rollitt is an antique furniture dealer and restorer, but he’s not a slave to any particular era. He is, however, devoted to whimsy and character at home.
Rollitt, a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory, recently transformed the kitchen of a large Edwardian-era townhouse in Hampshire, England, for a young family with four children. Unlike in Edwardian times, the kitchen is now the heart of any home—so Rollitt transported the kitchen from a smallish room at the back of the house to one of the large, main rooms at the front. On top of being small and hard to access, “There was nothing functional about the original kitchen,” said Rollitt. “It was modern and masculine with lots of sparkly granite surfaces.” To imbue (desired) character into the new space, Rollitt combined colors, textures, and antiques from different eras to his liking.
Photography by David Gibbons, courtesy of Max Rollitt.
Above: Rollitt’s firm designed the blue Bath dresser after an antique sample; “It has all the look of an original piece but it’s built to house modern appliances,” he said. His studio applied the blue paint effect by hand, then installed a Carrara marble worktop and undermount sink. Above: Rollitt had the existing oak flooring refinished for an antique look. The gas range, in back, is Lacanche. Above: Functioning as a kitchen island is a Devon farmhouse table from the early 19th century. Above: The elm wood table functions as both the main kitchen workspace and as an informal kitchen table. (The dining room is attached next door.) Above: A double pendant light from Holloway’s of Ludlow hangs above the farmhouse table. Above: Mixed among practical items like matches, gin, and twine on the Bath dresser are the homeowners’ collections of early Wedgewood china and English delftware.
“We also created a fantastic display using an array of bottles from an open cask mine in Hungary, wrapped in plastic tubing to add color and interest,” Rollitt says.
Above: The walls are painted in Loyal Wheat from Paint & Paper Library in the UK. A black Aga cast-iron cooker from the previous kitchen is tucked in a white-tiled fireplace surround. Above: “We wanted to create a practical and relaxed room that didn’t look contrived,” Rollitt says. Above: Adjacent to the kitchen is a pantry room with a refrigerator, freezer chest, and walk-in larder.
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