Perhaps one alternative is to use a different launcher to operate your home screen, since Google designed Android, they do (of course) want you to have the search bar 'at your fingertips' and it is persistent or maybe try to move certain app icons to a separate screen. Just hold down on an icon an push it over to the edge of the screen and it will populate on an adjoining 'screen' you most likely have multiples of these additional screens, and depending on the manufacturer and their 'skin' you may have more than one, if not just look in play store and research other launchers, there are a couple good ones and they have various features that Google didn't concern themselves with when they designed Android. Anyway just a couple suggestions. We all love/hate Google, and we know where to find them when we DO need them. Just wish they would go sit in the corner until they're called upon. BTW one of the most popular launchers allows you to impose a colored background on the app drawer and slightly smalls down the icons so you won't have as many 'pages' of them.
