Kyle Schuneman’s DIY racing stripe chairs

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Ikea hackers, the folks who turn budget buys from the Swedish superstore into pieces of custom furniture? Well, how about some Target tweaking? Los Angeles designer Kyle Schuneman found these basic blue chairs that sell for $67.99 for a set of two — free shipping, no less — from Target.com. He felt they needed a little something though, so he added racing stripes with leftover semi-gloss paint.

“Remember, customizing isn’t just for old or expensive pieces of furniture,” he writes in his forthcoming book, “The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces.”

“There’s always the possibility of making something brand new feel special and unique.”

The chairs are budget knockoffs of Danish designer Arne Jacobsen’s famous Series 7 chairs, authentic versions of which sell for $500 and up apiece. With the addition of the stripe, the chairs avoid looking like copycats and instead have their own spirit, one that reads young and fun.

Check out Debra Prinzing’s profile of Schuneman as well as two other DIY projects from his book that the designer shared with L.A. at Home readers.

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