Who Owns the House in the August 2009 Issue of Martha Stewart Living?

This month's issue of Martha Stewart Living features a Michigan summer house, lovingly renovated by Andre and Lisa Radant and their New York architects. They obviously spent a fortune on the renovation, excavating the floor to leave the roof intact and filling it with high-end designer furniture-as well as stuff bought on E-bay, the article notes. The catch? It's a guesthouse, and they don't intend to occupy it.

I had to wonder: who renovates a house to shelter-magazine standards without any plans to actually live there?

Andre Radandt is the Chairman and former CEO of the privately held Bolthouse Farms, one of the largest producers and processors of carrots in the US. They mill the carrots into bagged carrots sold in supermarkets. The Bolthouse firm also makes fruit juices, salad dressings, and smoothies. The carrot empire began in Michigan, in 1915.

Although the company was founded in Michigan, operations later moved to California, so that they could continue production year round. Lisa (Bolthouse) Radandt is the daughter of the company's former president, William Bolthouse. Andre Radandt was reportedly William Bolthouse's protégé.

In 2005, the family put Bolthouse Farms up for auction, because some family members wished to sell the shares. A Chicago-based private equity firm became part-owner of the company. The company was reportedly valued at that time at $700 million. Annual revenues were estimated to be $400 million to $500 million in 2005. Annual revenue for 2007 was listed at just under $400 million.

According to a letter written by the group Californians Against Hate, Lisa Radant's father-in-law, William Bolthouse, gave $100,000 to Project Marriage/Yes on Proposition 8, the proposed California Legislation that would ban gay marriage. His early support for this initiative, it was claimed, helped it to pass. The Wall Street Journal ran an article describing the efforts of gay activist groups, to target Radant's company because of their opposition to Proposition 8.

In a 2004 Christian Business Daily article, Andre Radandt reportedly stated, "Stewardship and integrity have always been a part of the business and have been well-established culturally .... My job is to preserve that ... the integrity side involves using the business as a platform for ministry."

The Radandt family has had other home renovations written up in shelter publications and newspapers. The renovated a California ranch house in 2002. According to an article in the Seattle paper, they purchased a house for $17.5 million upon relocating from California to the Pacific Northwest. Wanting the large lot, they planned to tear the house down to build a larger (approximately 8,000-10,000 square feet), more modern one as a replacement. They offered the house, valued at $800,000 and an example of 1950s architecture, for free to anyone willing to move it before construction began.

Andre and Lisa Radandt have four children.