I'd be wary of tilling. After you till, when you level it, there can be airs paces and so forth and as it settles, these can end up leading to uneven ground. Tilling in compost can exacerbate this, since the compost will continue to break down, and unless it's distributed exactly evenly, you'll end up with even more uneven spots. The best thing to do is to have it graded, but if you don't have the money, that may be out of the picture. Some people have done it slowly by core aerating the lawn and raking cores to low spots and/or spreading sand no more than 1/2 inch deep in the low spots. Planting in the spring can work, but you'll often end up losing grass in the heat of the summer because it isn't well enough established. If you must seed now, you'll need to be more vigilant about watering in the summer. You may end up needing to overseed in the fall, also. If you use KBG and enough makes it through the summer, it can fill in as long as you don't have huge bare spots. I know that a lot of seed mixes you see in the store are a mixture of KBG, fescue and rye, but I think you're probably better off going with just KBG unless you have areas that are excessively shady. If you want to get the seed that will look the best, here is a list of KBG blends by state. If you want something that will look pretty decent, you can buy seed at a hardware store or garden center.

My guess is somewhere between 1890-1910, and it looks art nouveau because it is. The 'carving' looks so fine because it's really moulded gesso. The main mirror may or may not have been replaced. Check the depth of reflection. If it's original, the reflection should be deep and the piece rather heavy. I'm suspicious because of the degradation of the mirror tiles compared to the quality of the main pane. I've seen one similar mirror advertised, with the tiles in much better condition, and the owners were asking around $200. I can see a French influence in it, but so did a lot of pieces from that era. You didn't give us a lot of information, and I very well could be way off base judging from just a picture, but the mirror tiles kept niggling at me because I have a picture frame from that era with the same decoration and I think it's a pretty close call.

The two 'master' chairs are indeed from a different set. (But I LOVE them. They are sooooo sturdy and comfortable - everyone wants to sit in them! and they have great character) I also think they're made of mahogany, not walnut like the other chairs. But the cane back chairs have carving on the legs that is identical to the feet of the sideboards. All upholstery has been replaced multiple times from looking at the underside of the chairs - I also suspect the caning is not original, but it is doubled and is very heavy grade caning. Sideboards have carved mouldings identical to the mouldings around the edge of the table. *shrugs* Even if the chairs are from a later time, they match well with it. Don't suppose anyone has any ideas on the actual age and origin of the larger pieces? I've looked all over the internet, and I've had one person from Europe suggest they're from the 1930's, 40's, or 50's and made in America, which I have to disagree with. American pieces made during the great depression era aren't large, they aren't heavy, and typically don't have the nice veneer work on them. People simply couldn't afford that sort of furniture at that time. I have several pieces from that era, they're pretty common in this part of the U.S. 1940's ushered in WWII; the ability to manufacture pretty furniture was eclipsed by building airplanes and war machines. 1950's pieces don't tend to have the thick cuts of wood for a carcass - the table top alone is just over an inch thick, same for the tops of the sideboards. They also didn't typically use mortise and tenon construction for things like mouldings around the edges of furniture. I have yet to see any American furniture from any of those decades that have wooden knobs. They usually have brass or brass plated pulls. European pieces tend to have brass hinges; the sideboards I have do have brass hinges, whereas American furniture has iron or steel. I guess I'm just going through process of elimination now. LOL The style is so eclectic, yet not as awkward and top-heavy as Victorian pieces, that I'm led to believe it might be late (very late) Edwardian - which would put it being made in the mid to late 1900's, possibly even early 20's. One other clue to its possible age: It has a servants bell underneath at the area that would be occupied by someone sitting immediately to the left of the head of the table. It was an electric buzzer type thing, with a shred of the original sheathing left around what remains of the cord and it is a woven fabric. Actual copper of the cord looks dangerously thin - as in not up to modern electric standards. The buzzer appeared to be made of Bakelite, but also appears to be added later as I removed it and the wood beneath is lighter, but not by much. It is held on with flat head screws. It came with three leaves, and it will expand just enough for the three of them. The wood has shrunk so they don't fit tightly against one another, you can see right through to the floor in some places, but the moulding still meets at the edges. It has dowels/pegs on the underside of the frame to 'stop' the table at the correct length. I haven't measured it with all three of the leaves yet, but I do know I'll have to have a table cloth that's 70x120, if not larger. Also! The leaves do not have a metal tab system to lock them into place! Or the dowel and tabs like you see on modern pieces! It has carved wooden, half circle 'tongues' which are about a quarter inch thick. They insert into companion slots carved into the next leaf. They must be inserted in order or they don't fit together at all. Each leaf is marked for order of insertion with a scratched roman numeral: I, II, and III. I believe the veneer to be of walnut, as does the antiques dealer/appraiser friend of ours that looked it over this last weekend. He has been in the business for 30 years, and he's never seen anything like them himself. All he could do is confirm they're quality pieces and were a good investment. :-) I have not inspected the underside of the stretcher as it is just too heavy to flip onto its side.

I hate MCM crap....but that's just beautiful!! I would not mess with the paint, perhaps replace the chair seats....but it's really fabulous!! I am sorry I can't give you a good estimate of value....but don't give it away. As they say....where will you find another?.