in my family's usage, cellar has always meant a cool, below ground area, without windows, undecorated and unglamorous, designed for storing wine and possibly coal.

A house with a basement (like mine) would struggle to have a cellar as the basement is already below ground level and contains rooms (in my case a self-contained flat). Originally, this would have been the servants quarters and would have contained the kitchen, scullery, butlers pantry etc.