How to configure GNOME 3 to show icons on desktop

It can be reversed in gnome3 so if this is implemented the same should be true.

Where are my icons on the desktop?

They are gone, it’s by design. But you can reenable them with:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true

and starting nautilus (if it’s not already running). (Thanks to bronte for the information)

Source

The easiest way to enable desktop icons is to use Gnome Tweak Tool. Run sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool, then launch Gnome Tweak Tool from the Gnome Shell menu. It will be called Advanced Settings.

Then, click on the Desktop button. Enable the option that says "Have file manager handle the desktop. Now, any files placed in the Desktop folder inside your home folder should appear on ther desktop.

Run this command in your terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal):

# show files on desktop
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background show-desktop-icons true

# show shares on desktop
gsettings set org.gnome.nautilus.desktop volumes-visible true

# restart nautilus
nautilus -q
nautilus