I wish all the different type of shells looked different when you place them down. In New Leaf, when you placed them as items in your home, it would actually appear as the shell that it was, rather than the icon. It would just be pretty cute to decorate with. I wonder why they changed it so you can't put them down as an item
It just seems like they want the shell materials have the same function as the other materials. Since the whole game revolves around crafting, so it's probably their reasoning for removing it. Still is a bummer.
