tamaltree, There are a few types of wood that don't take paint well. Heavy oily woods, like teak are the kind I mean. Most other kinds of wood will, so long as it is dry, clean and has a slightly rough surface for the paint to adhere to. If you are not a professional or an advanced amateur, don't try for the lacquer. It is toxic and highly flammable. Is that the information you were after?

Hi senba, Great suggestions above! Yes, use the wallpaper background... but keep it really,really light blue. It will keep the room homogenous and will retain the softness of your paper. That is going to be a very pretty, very fun room when complete.... please post a picture! Elizabeth Cabell, ASID, CID

Does it complement the paint colour or does it look awful? If you don't like it then paint the room or return the sofa for a new colour.

Do they have to be paint buckets? I would think they would not be good for gardening? Maybe others will know more about that. But in the U.S. you can get 5 gallon buckets from some local businesses like bakeries, food store chains, places like those that regularly use items they get in the buckets. For instance a bakery usually gets stuff in 5 gallon buckets and often has to throw them into a dumpster as they can only save so many. Some businesses now sell them for a small fee, maybe 1 dollar U.S. each and some just give them away. I think the cost of shipping them to India would be more than the cost of buying them. You could try setting up a fund on Kiva.org and possibly get enough donations to purchase food grade buckets instead of using ones from paint. Good luck with this project and please update us as to your progress.