Maybe I am reading your post too simply. Surely you know that there have been many models of bicycles with only one front sprocket over the years.
The only difficulty I see from your description is that you are going with a larger diameter sprocket (chainring) than your bike is presently equipped with.
This will surely cause stress on your derailure and will cause the derailure to pull harder against the sprocket teeth when you the chain is on the larger rear sprockets. This will cause your sprockets (chain ring) and chain to wear faster.
To overcome this, you should be able to add a couple of links to your chain.