I've tried to find a solution in the forum and regret that I could not find one. I'm working on a site for a client who wants to have just 1 full blog post on the front page but 6 excerpts/page on the archive and category pages. When I change the Settings > Reading to 6, of course I get one full post and 5 excerpts on the front page. How can I limit the # of articles on the front page without affecting the archive pages, etc.? As always, thanks for your help.

You could use a plugin like "List Category Posts" and configure it to only show one post and put the shortcode on the front page.

Thank you for the great response! Genius!! I've installed the plugin and am configuring it. Perfect solution, as always.