What you are describing is what we currently have, and will continue with after the reno. As long as you make sure the inner shower curtain is inside the threshold, no problemmo.

Make it look elegant get the shower door.

Nice shower curtains at anthropologie
HERE

Are you sure you need a shower door? we've decided to do without but ours is a curbless shower so probably a bit different environment - just wanted to let you know if you hadn't thought of it - (there is a small glass panel between shower and vanity ..) - really nice not having to deal with a door:

We have a 2 stalls with 5 inch curbs and shower curtains. The stall with the fabric liner that has a weighted bottom (a cotton cord sewn into the hem) works a little better than the vinyl liner at staying in place. I think the flexibility of the fabric and the way the fabric sticks to the curb when it gets a little wet is what gives it a slight advantage over the vinyl liner. But, really, we don't have a problem with either.

I posted a response in kitchens. I would make sure that you even need a shower door or curtain. My master bath is exactly what Elphaba did (except that we have a small curb). Nothing gets wet. And I described in my response how we did the same thing in our hall bath with the tub.

The key is the rainhead. That is what keeps the water from going everywhere. If you get one on the small side, the water pressure is more concentrated so the pressure can be really good if you have good pressure to begin with. When I first did this set up, my kids (who use this bathroom) were skeptical, but now they love it.

I love the open look and there is zero maintenance. Check out my baths in "pics of my new bathrooms" that I posted in June 2011. There is one picture of my hall bathtub, although the shower head is not visible. The step in front of the tub does not get wet.

Since you would only have a curb, if you did this set up, you might get a bit of water on the floor in front, but I bet not much. You could put a bath mat in front or even a teak shower mat which could look really nice.

And did I mention there is zero maintenance?

I have the exact same set-up you are describing. I also have super hard water and know that a pretty glass shower door isn't going to stay pretty for long at all. I love the look of the frameless doors, but I also know that my OCD self will be spending hours making sure that door stays spotless. I don't have that kind of time.

I went with a curtain.

2 thoughts for you.

1. My exhaust fan is powerful, and yes, it was sucking the curtain actually into the shower. So I didn't have a problem with water dripping out, but how much fun is it to take a shower with a clammy curtain stuck to your legs?

I found that a heavy- weighted liner, and also using an outer curtain, solved this problem though.

2. If you are talking about doing the same sized shower as what your bathtub used to be, just know that finding right-sized shower curtains was a royal PITA (at least for me). As someone mentioned, most curtains are 71 or 72 inches long. I needed something that was 74 or 75. You can find stand-up sized stall curtains that are that length, but they're not wide enough. You can also buy curtains that are something like 84 inches long...but that was way too long in my application, so there was some tailoring needed.

In the end....I almost wish I'd kept the bathtub. Ha-ha.

This post was edited by patriceny on Thu, Apr 18, 13 at 12:05

We also just finished our bathroom reno. Quotes for a custom frameless shower door were about $1k. We thought that was pretty ridiculous for something only 25" wide.

Instead, we ordered the below from Home Depot for under $400. I installed it myself and it's been great. No water spots or anything and it always looks clean. And goodness knows we don't scrub it down everyday! Pretty glad we chose this over a shower curtain. It really lightens up the space. Good luck!

Wow, so many replies, and so much information to consider! If I do decide to go with the shower curtain, I now know that I should use a tension rod - in case I change my mind. It never dawned on me that I need watch for the length of the curtain either. The weights on the bottom hem are an excellent idea.

Elphaba, Xand83, your baths are beautiful! That $400 shower door is a steal!

Nycbluedevil, your rainshower fixture sounds wonderful - it makes me think about that old ad - "Calgon, take me away!". But alas, There must be a handheld showerhead. We're converting the tub to a shower to accomodate a family member's serious health issue. it will eventually be necessary to get an aide in to assist with showering. Which brings me back to the shower curtain/door issue . I'm leaning towards starting with the curtain, and putting lots of towels on the floor during the first shower - just in case.

We went with glass and I keep a squeegee in each shower for a fast wipe off of the water which is quick, easy and keeps the doors so much cleaner.

I've rarely met a curtain that I didn't have to wrestle with when I showered. I used to travel a lot for business, and believe me, I met a lot of wayward shower curtains. Not to mention the scum/mold that can form if they aren't regularly laundered. Yuck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shower curtain effect

We just had a semi-frameless bronze-glass door installed on a Talavera tile shower. Like you, $$$ wasn't there for frameless. For the past 2 years we had a shower curtain on this shower, waiting to have the rest of the house completed so we could order two doors at the same time.

I wasn't convinced that we needed to spend the money for the glass door, but now that it's in I am really happy with it. I bought a $6 squeegee at Target, it takes just 3 passes to clean the new door.

The glass door looks so much nicer than the shower curtain. Check out your options thoroughly, if your door opening is very plumb and square you probably can install a door yourself.

Dianne47, I'll remember the squeegee tip - we have hard well water, so I'd have to keep after it on a daily basis. I really like the look of a door, especially if I don't have to sweat blood to keep it presentable.

Yes, you should squeegee the door after every use. This is especially the case for hard water. It just takes seconds.