Designer Ken Fulk fashions a fabulous Lake Tahoe getaway for Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom and his wife, Nicole.

For 150 years Lake Tahoe has attracted generations of adventurers, artists, and pioneers to its shores—folks drawn to the magnificent rugged landscape of the Sierras and the intense beauty of the crystal-blue alpine lake. It was a mutual admiration of this place that helped lay the groundwork for my friendship with Kevin Systrom, the cofounder of Instagram, and his wife, Nicole.

Kevin shared his romantic ideas about the area—the history of its fearless explorers, the mystique of the Wild West, its place in San Francisco lore since the Victorian era, when timber resorts dotted the shores and Bay Area families would retreat to homes designed by the most prominent local architects. At its core, however, the real pull for both of Kevin and Nicole is the otherworldly beauty, an ever-changing source of profound inspiration.