We have 32" included the step, which is about 4" wide, and it's the narrowest I'd want it to be.

Agree that 32" is about as narrow I would want, too.

Hi Jane, Any reason your step is going to be 6" wide? I just measured both of mine, and they are 4". Your glass will probably be halfway on the step, so you should gain another 2-3 " of elbow space. If I had a choice, I'd rather the 2" be inside my shower, rather than used on the step/curb.

32" is enough.

One thing that I'm going to do in my narrow shower to get elbow room is to build a long shelf. This will help out when shampooing hair, etc. The following picture may not be your style, but you can browse Houzz and find lots of examples.

[Contemporary Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by Bloomfield Hills Kitchen & Bath Designers Xstyles Bath + More

Jane,

My shower bases are cultured marble, so they are just a solid surface 4" wide. Instead of using bullnose tiles, you could use a solid marble or granite piece, something to match your vanity counter? Not sure how it would look, but your tiler could also cut down the bullnose tiles to 2" each instead of 3". Is there a tile that has a bullnose on both sides? My base is 36" wide with a 4" curb, so base space is 32", but in reality, 34" since glass is in middle of curb, so gives me another 2".

My shower floor is tile, and the three surfaces of the curb is marble tile that matches the floor in the rest of the bathroom. Here's a picture. (Sorry it's so big, I couldn't figure out how to make it smaller).