Seven crews from the New Forest and Dorset battled the blaze in Sopley, Christchurch at 17:41 GMT on Thursday.
Fire officer Sandy Thompson said the firefighters did a "fantastic job in salvaging most of the contents of the house whilst fighting the fire from outside".
The cause of the blaze is not yet known and an investigation is under way.
Derek Slade, a resident of Sopley all his life, called the fire "absolutely terrible".
He said: "We opened the front door and couldn't see across the road for smoke. It was absolutely chaotic.
"I told them I'd get a florescent jacket and stand on the corner to direct the traffic because it was a gridlock.
"Everybody chipped in and sorted it out.
"It gets you choked because it was a lovely place. It's a shock."
Mr Thompson praised neighbours who helped the firefighters.
"Once furniture was removed from the house, several villagers joined in the salvage operation," he said.
"It was a really good effort by all the local neighbours, and the furnishings were moved to a safe outbuilding.
"During the fire the chimney stack had become unstable so it wasn't safe for our crews to fight the fire from inside."
The cause of the fire is not thought to be suspicious.
Fire crews fought an "intense" blaze in Hampshire after the roof of a thatched cottage caught fire.