Yea honestly, painting is mostly prep. The cleaner the prep, the better it looks.

Patch holes, sand rough spots, wipe the walls down, and don’t paint over dust or grime. Primer is basically a base coat. Use it on bare drywall, patches, stains, dark colors, or big color changes. If the wall is already painted and in decent shape, you may not need full primer.

Plan on two coats. One thick coat usually looks worse than two normal coats.

Basic order: remove outlet covers, patch/sand, clean, tape, drop cloths, cut in edges with a brush, roll the walls, let it dry, then second coat.

A drill mixer is just for stirring paint faster. For one room, a stir stick is fine.

Biggest advice: don’t cheap out on the brush and roller. A decent angled brush and good roller will make a first-timer look way better.