LivingEtc: HELP - Lighting headache, sloped ceilings!

Our home has sloped ceiling in every room.
I originally thought wall lights would be the best way forward, but the choice is so much more limited and the only ones I have found that I like are SO expensive, and am almost concerned about losing valuable wall space for big furniture, especially in bedrooms where wardrobes etc are necessary.

Has anyone hung pendant/ceiling lights from sloped ceilings? I just can't imagine how it will look and can't seem to find any images to give me an idea.

None of the rooms have a symetrical central point on the ceiling (as an example, the highest point in our bedroom is about 1/6 into the room). There are beams running lengthways, but they are not level, so a pendant fitted to them would still be at an angle - though of course it would hang level, I am just worried the actual part that fits flush with the beam or ceiling would look odd at an angle...

Has anyone else had this problem? the pressure is on for me to choose lighting (and where it will go).