I love big piles of driftwood, the more tangled-up and gnarly, the better. They're probably my favorite way to dress up a tank, especially if you go for an informal planting (more cottage garden or wildscape, less Versailles). So
I prefer java ferns grown in shade (I think they're prettier without lots of light), and dwarf hair grass seems to want higher light. I'd be tempted to plan for some floating plants (or plants that will grow long and lay across the surface) over the wood pile to give that area some shade. You might need to shift that pile slightly forward to make room for tall stem plants, if you go that route.
If you're patient, you can just soak wood in the tank, with no lights, and just keep doing occasional water changes until the water runs clear. Depending on the wood, it could take several weeks. (I had one piece that leached a little for over a year, but the worst was done in the first few weeks) I just set up a tank for an impatient relative, and we gave up soaking her wood after a month and just put it in the tank and added a bag of Purigen to the filter. Some combination of the soak and the Purigen did the trick - her water is staying clear.
I have some wood I tried to soak in a bin, but I couldn't get it completely submerged and the exposed parts grew mold
So, make sure the tub is deep enough!
Someone, somewhere ... on the internet, so you know... said you could run wood through the dishwasher. Not sure it's enough water to get it waterlogged, but the heat could help with the leaching. I haven't actually tried that.
Not to derail this, but: I'd be wary about having a tank where the edges are not completely supported by the stand. You don't have a lot of overhang, so it may be okay, if the front and back edges aren't hanging off... But if it were me, I'd get a piece of plywood slightly larger than the footprint of the tank and use that to provide some extra support.
