How to Make Driftwood-Colored Flooring

Seal off the room. Floor sanding creates an incredible amount of dust. Tape over any vents in the room, and hang plastic over doors and windows.

Strip the floors. Rent a floor sander and purchase three grades of sandpaper: heavy, medium and fine. While you can use a belt sander, it will take a lot more time. Go on the diagonal in one direction with a heavy grade of sandpaper. Go the other way in a diagonal with a medium grade. Finish by sanding with the grain with a fine grade. The floor sander will not reach the edges of the room; you will need to do this with an edge sander.

Create distressed areas. Use a hand sander to randomly gouge out portions of the floor, if you desire a distressed, true driftwood look.

Remove all the dust. Use a shop-vac to remove all the dust, particularly between the floorboards and on the edges of the room.

Apply a driftwood finish. Several commercial wood stain companies offer a driftwood stain. Apply this with a paintbrush and go with the grain of the wood. Apply one coat and let it dry. If you prefer a deeper color, manually sand the area lightly with a fine grade of sandpaper. Apply the second coat.

Polyurethane the floor. Use a clear coat of polyurethane to protect the wood finish. Lightly sand the whole floor manually and apply the first coat. Let it dry. Sand again and apply a second coat. Two coats should be sufficient.