Take a look at my finished bathroom thread--pharaoh asked me the same question and I answered it on the thread. Short version; cost, preference, and ability to keep clean/clear long term.

Our bathrooms are very small, too BTW.

What Cat Mom said. Glass doors are a pain to keep clean and shower curtains are a cinch to replace when they look a bit grungy. I also have a Kohler Expanse tub which has a curved outer edge, so a glass door wouldn't fit. I have a curved shower rod and I'm happy with it.

If your bathroom is going to be more high-end, go with the glass doors for resale.

And my bathroom is smallish, too.

I prefer a curtain because there is more you can do with it in terms of decorating. You can get them in any color and design If you get tired of the design or color, you can get a new one. I also have a very small bathroom

Easier to clean and much cheaper. We are using a plain white waffle-weave curtain with a nylon liner. It looks great against the taupe patterned Swanstone. We went with the color Swanstone calls "pebble" and used chrome fixtures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swanstone colors

I prefer curtains for all the reasons stated, but DH prefers doors. Our shower is small and my DH has broad shoulders. He says that when he showers the curtain sticks to his skin and it totally grosses him out.

curtain only in the kids bathroom. they're still small, so i help them with their hair when they bathe/shower. needless to say, if there were a door i'd have to physically get in with them.

We have a shower/tub combo. During our renovation, we switched from doors to a curtain with a curved rod. So far, we are very happy with the decision. Doors, although they look great and work great when showering, are a pain to keep clean. Even more important to us was that when leaning over the edge to wash kids or pets, the doors and the frame were always in the way. When taking a bath in the tub, the door frame ran along the edge so you couldn't rest your arm there and the doors made it feel closed in.

Oh yes, I have had to give my son a bath in a tub that had doors before -- that was AWFUL! I like the curved curtain rods, so for a bath I'd get curved curtain rod and for a small shower I can see the point of a door :-)

The idea of having to squeegee the shower doors every time I bathe just makes me laugh. I've had to do it on vacation and always feel glad I don't have to deal with that at home. If you want to show off beautiful tile/make the room seem larger, just gather the shower curtain at the foot end of the tub. The only way I'll do glass doors is if they are sandblasted so squeegeeing is not necessary.

I intended to add a glass door, but put up a curtain temporarily. I really like it because there are so many hard surfaces in a bath that it adds some color and softness. That plus no cleaning glass, no mold, etc. I let it dry and push it off to the side so I can enjoy my tile shower. I probably won't get glass now.

Thats a battle I won over DH when we built the shower. Less $ and less hassle to clean. More fun to decorate.

We have a glass frameless shower door and it is gorgeous. Never have to squeegee. Sprayed on RainX per instructions of installer and water just flows off in sheets and dries without a spot.

Patty0315- I'm interested in the RainX...did you just spray it or did you have to spread it like on a car windshield?

I prefer a glass door on a walk-in shower and curtains for a shower/tub combo. I need to be able to sit on the edge of the tub to bathe my kids, and a metal track makes that pretty uncomfortable!

In our kids'/guest bath, we are in the midst of replacing the PO's 30" wide tub and glass sliding doors with a Kohler Expanse tub and curved rod. The curtain will be kept open except when showering so the pretty tile is visible. The only problem we are having is with selecting a curved rod. I like the shape/style of the Kohler rod, but it does not come in brushed nickel, which is just silly.

I like the look of glass doors, but have had them on a shower/tub in 2 rentals and didn't like the function. The track was the problem for me. It collected gook. It made it painful to reach over a bathe a kid or clean the shower. I would rather have a shower curtain and keep it open.

If it is a combo tub/shower, I much prefer a shower curtain. I dislike having a closed glass enclosure while I bathe. While showering, as long as the space is wide enough, a shower curtain functions as well as glass doors. If the shower is smaller and has no bath tub, I prefer doors. I find shower curtains suck into the space and stick to me if the space is too small. Having a shower curtain stick to you while attempting to shave legs is very frustrating. Exactly what size is your shower area? And is there a bath tub? Why do you say that the shower curtain would make the space look like 6' long rather than 8'? In general, I keep the shower curtain open while not showering, which means the space feels just as open as glass doors.

If you have a tub/shower combo definitely curtain.(doors on tracks are awful. For a walk-in shower definitely glass. More light and more open feeling. Rain-x=no squeegee or you can use soft scrub extend-a-clean (no exta steps just spray and wipe. It cleans and leaves a no spot finish like rain-x but only for 4 or 5 days. But great since thats about how often I clean the bathrooms)

When we live in suburb of Chicago, we never see glass door for tub/shower combo for hundred of houses we toured. And we were disgusted by the shower door (those cheap looking one) that enclose the tub/shower, including the current house we are renting. We like shower curtain much better because of the design we could use. We put two layers in our old house, the outer layer that stay out all the time, can be cloth or anything because they don't get wet. The inner layer which stays in the tub, we use the $2 clear curtain from Walmart. Every few months when they get dirty we throw them away.

With tub shower combos doors curtains are easier for bathing kids, more comfortable for resting elbow on side if you like to soak, easier to reach in to clean the tub/walls and that track is a pain to keep clean, and in small baths the curtain adds a little style or pop of color. Clear doors and cool tile can add style too. Not sure what's preferred or better for resale. Easier to install a new door than take out and replace an old gross one though.

Another reason that I prefer a curtain is privacy. In order to show off the beautiful tile and make the tiny bathroom (6x6) look larger, I would need to put in clear glass doors. However, in my house, other family members frequently come into the bathroom to brush teeth, use the mirror, get deodorant, etc. while someone is in the shower. That is just a little too revealing for me or my teenager! LOL

The opaque glass doors we had previously provided the privacy but they made the room look small, were a pain to clean, and all the other issues mentioned above.

In our last house, in the tub- with- shower I used two Pottery barn print panels with tie backs. The plastic shower liner hid behind one of the panels. This gave a nice open space to back wall of tub, and an extra design element with the pretty linen panels( which are now re-purposed to their original use: curtains in a guest room. Have shower doors now and dislike them a lot. Want to remove them when we re-do, but unsure if that's possible without damaging the tub's enamel. I actually came across this while searching for an answer to that!

I like a shower curtain for its softness. In our previoius house, we purchased a clear glass door. It looked great and wasn't too hard to clean but we also sold the house just a few months after installing it--who knows what it looks like now after a few years.

But also, a year or so ago I read an article by a guy who had his shower door shatter while he was naked and helpless. Tempered glass won't break from a direct impact on its broad side but what happens is if the track becomes worn/loose it can cause an edge impact, and then it will shatter easily. I know it is rare, but it scared the crap out of me! He stood in his shower surrounded by glass with no way out!! Yikes.

I don't think a curtain necessarily makes a room feel smaller--here's our ceiling to floor shower curtain...helps make our small master bathroom feel grand :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Ceiling to Floor Shower Curtain

I totally prefer shower curtains in a tub/shower combo. Although not as fabulous as frameless glass in a dedicated shower (which we have in the master bath) I definitely think a nice curtain feels softer, classier, and more relaxing than a typical sliding track glass set. (And I also totally agree about the cleaning factor. Those doors just seem gross to me!)
I'm not sure why so many people keep the curtain closed when not in use. We keep ours open, to show off the pretty tile and make the room feel larger....