Functional bikes. Not Porn not Anti

I keep lusting after the idea of using an old Kona Lava dome as a utility bike. In my head it's either a 26" 1x9 with massive slicks and flats with a thumbie, or a 2x9 650B conversion plus 'gaurds with drops.

One more thing on this: is your choice of 1x9 vs. 2x9 directly related to the wheel size choices and if so, how? Genuine question.