How can I paint a plywood floor to make it look like a wood floor?

Practice, practice, practice. Don't tackle a big job until you have your technique down. Artists use many methods to achieve a wood look. There are also "graining" tools to make knot designs. The trick is to keep it simple, practice so your technique is in muscle memory and know that it will take time to complete this project. Good luck.

How to Paint Faux Wood Grain - HGTV Video - YouTube

It is a Plywood floor... it can be stained... or just clear coated... I have seen them paint plywood floors on several of the DIY shows... one was done in gray and white stripes (6in to 10 in) and then clear coated.... one floor was done in a spectacular zigzag in light blue and gray.. It is paint... if you don't like it... repaint!

maybe see if there is a stencil

Because plywood comes in 4 x 8 sheets you are going to have obvious seams. You can fill them, but it may crack as your floors flex. You can make it look like wood, but it does take some artistry. I think it would be easier to make the plywood look like tiles. If you have small children running around this might be impossible. Get it clean, fill any knot holes, smooth it out, then prime. From here you can lay out a grid and then mask it off into 1 foot squares. It need not be a black and white checkerboard, cream and beige look great together, or burgundy and cream. Or you can use narrow tape and create grout lines over a base color and then paint over the tape with your tile color. If your heart is absolutely set on a wood look, you could make it look like wood parquet. Squares will bring less attention to the seams than painting "boards".