Why is he pooping in his living area? I would change the area that he's supposed to go to be somewhere that he doesn't play; like outside?
Also make sure he's not playing with his poop because he's bored. I assume he's confined to the kitchen only when you're gone? When you leave, make sure and stock that area with fun toys and dog games for him to play with. Then when you return you can remove the toys again so that they are only out when he's going to be left along and most likely to become bored. You could hide treats as well.
Finally make sure you're feeding him a high quality food so that he's not wanting to eat his poop because he's feeling like he's nutritionally missing something.