We have raked ceilings in our new split level extension that follows the fall of the land (and in the rooms that were part of the skillion sections of the old cottage) and I love the sense of space they give and also the fact that the inside reflects what is happening on the outside of the house. We have used ceiling boards (painted white – I didn't want to feel like I was living in a cigar box) both in the old cottage and in the new section and they certainly add an enormous amount of visual interest to the rooms as well. However, I endorse the comments about the added trickiness of light fittings. Pendants with rods are out and pay particular attention to the little rose/canopy thingies that connect pendants to the ceiling – make sure that they sit flush with the ceiling and don't have weird unsightly bits that you can suddenly see because of the angled ceiling. We have successfully used LED downlights with a recessed diffuser and dimmer switches to make sure there is no glare but if the raked angle isn't too extreme they are a definite possibility.

here is one that might work I dont think all timbers need to match exactly and that some contrast can actually help (*not just colours that are close)

@Relle Belle, I too am OCD about things being straight, even and balanced. We are building our home entirely ourselves and so when we were ready for the electrician, I had already drawn up a lighting plan. I made the sole decision ultimately where every light, fan, powerpoint, light switch and pendant was to go, as it's my home and I have to be forever happy with it but more importantly, when you are personally responsible for the position of every light etc... you start to make better decisions about where they should be and why!! I decided on evenly spacing my down lights with four in each bedroom and a fan in the centre but without a light, as I'm not fond of fans with lights, they tend to take away from the beauty and elegance of downlights. My lounge kitchen dining is one open plan, so I still have the downlights evenly spaced but simply have some lights set on seperate switches, so they have more of a purpose, as I have an open passageway running the full length of this open plan area, so I didn't need those lights on when I only want the lounge lights on for example. Again I have a fan in the centre of the lounge only and in the kitchen, the down lights weren't going to sit squarely over the island, something I couldn't live with, so I chose not to place them in that way at all and have decided on a central task light over the island and I have feature pendants over the dining table. All my lights line up in this large open area and look real good that way and I'm very happy with the changes but I can't stress enough that a simple lighting diagram can be all you need to get the look and feel you want long term. In the bedrooms I'm having pendants, so you have to either already know the size of the bed for each room or physically have the bed for each room as your pendant switch needs to be just past the edge of the bed but not too far away to be over reaching when already in bed to turn the light on or off. I also don't like the largish 100mm+ downlights and have chosen the smaller neater 90mm lights, makes the ceiling look less busy and with a ducted cooling system in the future I wanted to allow space for the ducting vent without having the ceiling overcrowded. If the fans bother you now, chances are they always will, so move them now!! There is really far more to consider than simply leaving the lighting plan to an electrician who often doesn't care a hoot if the lighting is adequate or ill positioned, unless you are lucky like me and have an electrician that does care, so if you want to make any changes whilst the wiring is going in, it's a piece of cake and don't let any electrician tell you otherwise!!!

Unless the wood looks tired I wouldn't bother but if you want to then go for it