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.

Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester in West Sussex, died on 21 December during a battle for the IS group's stronghold of Raqqa.
He was fighting as a volunteer with the Kurdish armed fighting forces, the YPG.
The YPG told the BBC that "trace of a gunshot wound was found under the chin", suggesting suicide.
Sources said five fighters came under siege by IS - also known as ISIS - in the village of Ja'bar, and they showed "considerable resistance" before they were killed.
After the bodies were retrieved examinations showed that "it seems that the British fighter committed suicide in order not to fall captive with Isis".
A report said the gunshot wound indicated "that the gun made contact with the bottom of the chin".
"This suggests that the fighter committed suicide," it concluded.
Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell, from KurdishQuestion.com, told BBC South: "Ryan Lock may very well have turned his own gun upon himself rather than be taken prisoner by ISIS.
"There are no words to describe the bravery required to take such an action.
"ISIS were robbed of a predictable macabre propaganda opportunity by Ryan's action.
"I personally believe he deserves the very highest of military honours for such outstanding bravery in the face of such a barbaric enemy."
Mr Lock, a chef, had travelled to Syria in August having told friends and family he was going on holiday to Turkey.
Earlier on Tuesday his body was transported into Iraq in preparation to be flown back to the UK.
In a statement to the BBC, his father Jon Plater, from Chichester, said: "Since we heard the devastating news of Ryan, it's been pretty tough, especially the difficulties surrounding the repatriation.
"We are grateful to the YPG for bringing him home."
Mr Lock's body had been in the hands of IS militants.
The volunteer, who attended school in Havant, Hampshire, became the third British man to die fighting alongside the Kurds against so-called Islamic State.
The Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel to Syria.

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Hugh Cushnaghan, 63, from Irvine in Scotland, is due before Preston Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Lancashire Police said.
The un-named victim was found with a stab wound following reports of an altercation at a property in Fishwick Parade, Preston on Sunday morning.
He was taken to hospital, but died a short time later.

A police cordon has been set up at a lane near Broad Street, following the incident at about 04:00 BST.
Police have arrested two men aged 29 and 42.
Officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Fire crews fought an "intense" blaze in Hampshire after the roof of a thatched cottage caught fire.
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