It seems like the barn option has more practical benefits for you right off the bat. Personally I wouldn't have any shame in living in a barn, as long as its designed to my own personal comfort... which would mean I need lots of windows. I have friends that converted a good portion of a barn on their property into their primary residence, and they still had lots of barn left to use for parking tractors, storing firewood, tools, and much more. Their home was one story, but above their home they had extra storage rooms and on the third floor (their barn was quite tall) there was a project room. Oh also they parked their camper in the barn and lived in that with a roof over it while they built their home.

Just sharing that perspective in case it helps :) But sometimes practical isn't the only thing important to happiness and maybe you would be much happier in the cabin for other reasons. Comfort is so important to happiness and its different for everyone.